


Insomnia's Guide To A Perfect Date

by Neko_Positive



Category: Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Awkwardness, First Dates, First Kiss, Fluff, Happy Ending, Humor, I Don't Like Gladiolus That Much lol, Ignis Is Supportive, Light Angst, Love Confessions, M/M, Noctis Falls in Love, Requited Love, don't at me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-14
Updated: 2019-11-19
Packaged: 2020-06-28 06:41:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 28,688
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19806799
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Neko_Positive/pseuds/Neko_Positive
Summary: For some reason, out of nowhere, Noctis Lucis Caelum inexplicably develops romantic affection for his best friend. Despite being unwilling to admit it at first, the prince eventually decides that he can't keep hiding his emotions, and that he has to share his feelings with Prompto. And what better way to confess, then on a date?But it just so happens that he has no idea how dates are supposed to work. So of course, he seeks out the indispensable aid of his good old friend—the Internet.ALSO, ANNOUNCEMENT...!!!





	1. The First Half

**Author's Note:**

> OKAY!!! Hello again, readers!!! First of all, a quick Q&A, designed by yours truly. ;D
> 
> "Is this the first time I've uploaded a chapter in like half a year?" Yes.
> 
> "Does it show in my writing?" Probably.
> 
> "Is this chapter boring?" I thought it might be...!
> 
> "Is the second chapter going to be better?" I mean, I certainly hope so...!
> 
> "Why post this chapter if it might be boring?" BECAUSE I LITERALLY SPENT LIKE ALMOST HALF A YEAR ON IT...?! ;M;
> 
> "Is there an actual announcement?" Yes, at the end of the fic. If you can actually make it to there via reading, you have my utmost gratitude along with my utmost confusion, because like... how? But if you merely skip there, I totally get it. XD
> 
> The serious stuff is all at the end, coz I didn't want to clog this beginning up with stuff lol
> 
> I hope you manage to reap some kind of enjoyment out of this first part ^^'
> 
> edit: OMFG I had a scary-ass dream I would forget something upon uploading. But after ages and ages of scanning for errors, I deduced that I had it all in the bag. Well guess what, me? You're an idiot...!!! Not having uploaded in several months has fried your Ao3 brains...!!!
> 
> ...tags have actually been added now, y'all ////

Being sprawled lazily across his own couch whilst consistently thumbing at the bright screen of his phone wasn’t exactly a trait that could be deemed as uncharacteristic of the Prince of Lucis. In fact, the familiar arrangement was one that said prince would retreat back to often, particularly after dragged-out, boring meetings or distinctly harsh training sessions. Even if it was against a certain advisor’s best wishes to momentarily flip off his responsibilities and duties and all that just to idle and do ‘nothing’, the art of simply lying down and mindlessly playing either a video game or on his phone was the kind of euphoric opportunity that couldn’t be passed by.

In fact, Noctis Lucis Caelum was lounging on said magnificent sofa at that very moment. It was too early for his advisor to be over, he didn’t have any training session scheduled, he had no documents to deal with, and it was a weekend; the perfect opportunity to indulge in some perfect laziness. 

And yet, even having said that, the prince was feeling almost completely on edge, his body somehow comfortable and yet notably tense at the very same time. Despite his tiredness due to his early awakening, his brain was working two times faster than what could be deemed to be as his usual, and he could hear his own heartbeat in his ears. The raven found himself fidgeting, carelessly biting at his nails, all this combined with a frustrating inability to un-fixate on how his bangs kept sneaking towards that damned wrong angle. 

All of these irksome, tragic affairs were but a few of the many side effects of uncomfortable apprehension that continued even still to build within him. And it was all due to but a single thing.

‘Insomnia’s Guide To A Perfect Date’.

This peculiar, specific title enacting as the current centre of the prince’s attention belonged to an article off some random site consisting of mixed reviews and moderate feedback; and as the name suggested, it supposedly listed off the key steps to that alleged ‘perfect Insomnian date.’

…Yeah. The perfect _date._

Noctis bit his lip roughly at the very thought of such a thing. He didn’t think that he’d ever even get to worry about going out on an actual ‘date’. It was the kind of privilege that didn’t seem like it’d occur in the kind of war-laced and kingdom-centred life-style that he couldn’t escape from. For him, the prince and upcoming king of all of Lucis, the future consisted of groups such as councils, princesses, nobles, and empires, followed hand-in-hand by conceptions such as arranged marriages, sacrifice, and ‘for the people.’ Certainly not ‘teenage romance’ or ‘late-night rendezvous at the movies’. After turning 17, Noctis had deduced that he felt more or less convinced that for him to be going on a real-life, romantic, lovey-dovey kind of date, he’d have to legit dive straight into the movie scene; either that, or by some unholy luck happen to stumble upon some random-ass prestigious noble that he could tolerate, said noble additionally requiring a solemn guarantee for them to rule by his side and bear his future heirs to the throne.

But then again, who the hell was he kidding? The very notion of falling in love with a princess or distinguished individual—or pretty much anyone—was incredulous at best. After all, Noctis had known for quite some time that he was asexual. Aromantic. Not once had the prince been able to fabricate the ability to be sexually interested in someone, or muster up any romantic attraction towards another; and it was this bemusing perception that had persuaded him to believe that he’d never in the future, either. He was asexual, and nothing could change that. All it really meant was that he was bound to marry for the sake of his nation, the continuation of the Lucis line. And that was all there was to it. 

…Or so he had thought. 

Well, to be perfectly candid, it wasn’t exactly like he was being granted his fairy tale romance. In fact, for him it was quite the opposite. With how current matters had folded out, it quite clearly appeared that the Six had a rather peculiar sense of humour and had instead finally decided to intertwine his heart to what could actually be considered to be the furthest thing _from_ a princess.

But Noctis gradually conceded that his love interest wasn’t the worst possible choice of all time, however. Not really. Prompto was, and probably always would be, the very best thing that had ever happened to him.

Before he had accepted his now-seemingly-faulty asexuality, Noctis had always thought that if he’d ever meet the love of his life, he’d know it at first sight. They’d both have that miraculous click, and would be unable to explain the feeling, other than simply knowing that they were meant to be.  


However, when it came to his affection towards Prompto, things were a bit more… enigmatic, than he had so naïvely expected. 

In all their years of companionship, Noctis had never, not even once, imagined Prompto to be anything more than his best friend. Along with personal space meaning practically nothing between them, they both shared tons of common interests, could cuddle without question, shared practically everything with each other; and best of all, they just got each other on the kind of level that no one else in the prince’s life did. And what with all his royalistic duties becoming more and more discernible throughout his years, Noctis needed the kind of normality that his friend provided to keep him sane. And he was pretty sure that Prompto was heavily dependent on him for his own reasons, as well. Without a doubt, his perfect friendship.

And then, all of a sudden… it had changed. Without even a trace of warning.

When Prompto would casually throw his arm around him as he always did, the raven inexplicably found himself wanting to lean further into the partial embrace. When Prompto would say goodbye to him after the day was over, he wanted to call after the blonde to urge him not to leave him. And on the days when a goodbye wasn’t to arise between them, and Prompto would fall asleep next to him after a hefty movie-watching spree, the blonde’s eyes shut, lips visible to nobody else but the prince… Noctis wanted nothing more than to meet them with his own. What once was a normal expression on the blonde’s face, suddenly became adorable and charming. What used to be a completely ordinary gesture, somehow became intimate. And probably the most unnerving of all… whilst the prince actually did masturbate every now and then… the flustering, foreign desire to grasp a certain member that wasn’t attached to his own body had ever-so-embarrassingly made itself apparent. 

All of these abrupt emotions had hit the prince like a meteor. At once the raven began to question what on Eos was wrong with him, and what the hell Prompto could have done to so swiftly violate what he thought was to be his standing sexuality. But even though the prince had been fixating on the matter for weeks, the notion that trumped all of his thoughts, questions, and doubts from the start was blindingly discernible; and it was that Noctis knew that his feelings were wrong, and that they held no place in their friendship—that was the main reason why the raven had sworn to himself that he wasn’t going to act upon his stupid state of mind, why he had kept telling himself that he’d get over this unjust period. 

But time had only told the prince that such an ideology was not going to hold up. Not for him. 

After weeks of denying his stubborn heart and forcefully neglecting his unchanging emotions, it became abundantly clear that the new and foreign feelings that he had inexplicably developed for Prompto were not a mere phase of sentiment, or some stupid crush. Even though he continued to deny it to himself, deep down in his heart, it was indisputable that he was truly head-over-heels in love with his best friend—and it was pretty damn obvious that said best friend held no such feelings for him in return.

It was this sombre knowledge that had gotten the prince to the point of not even wanting Prompto to be near him, lest he succumb to his desire and do something insanely stupid. The Six only knew what would happen between them if such a thing was to occur, what’d become of their relationship. He didn’t even want to think about it.

And so, Noctis had tried to deliberately put some distance between them. He felt as if he had had no choice in the matter—rather that, then diminishing their friendship altogether. He hoped with everything in him that if for a while Prompto wasn’t so profuse in his day-to-day life, he’d somehow gradually fall out of love with him. …As stupid as that may have sounded, he definitely had reason to try. 

As it had been, the prince’s feelings were raging onwards without hindrance, the unwanted menace making it even harder to try to even slightly dissociate with the target of his attraction. But still he had tried, knowing full well that he was really trying to push his best friend away from him; and it even appeared to be fine, for the first week or two. Noctis halted attempts to start conversation, stopped trying to get Prompto over at his place, and even refrained from studying with his friend, the close proximity provided during said task suddenly far too much for him to handle. The prince had literally forced himself to dispel any and all romantic—and even normal—thoughts of Prompto out of his mind; and the blonde didn’t even seem to take any particular notice of his efforts. 

…That was, until the day before.

The hour had yet to arrive before the prince could be able to recall their conversation without having an uneasy shiver bitterly caress his body.

“H-Hey, Noct…” 

Prompto had uttered the words softly from the prince’s side as the two were walking back from a shorter-than-usual trip to the arcade for the first time in days, their bodies—still clad in their school wear—atypically distant from each other. In fact, the call had been so quiet that Noctis had questioned if he had even heard it in the first place. However, turning around to affirm his suspicions, only to be met with an uncharacteristically troubled expression on his best friend’s face, was confirmation enough that it was so. 

“…Did I do something wrong?” were the words that next came out, Noctis’ body promptly stiffening in response due to the current state of his psyche, the blonde staring at the ground before eventually pressing on. “Are you… upset with me?”

The prince had slowed his pace as he continued to gaze over at his friend unintelligently, deliberately feigning confusion to what normally would’ve been a totally bizarre question. But as it was, he just so happened to have known better. And even though the raven was hoping to the Gods that he was wrong, and that Prompto was still ignorant to his attempts to detach romantic sentiments with him, he couldn’t help but suspect the notion at the forefront of his mind. And it was that which was causing him such abrupt, internal distress. 

“W-What? Of course, not, Prom.” Noctis had eventually assured his friend with a strained smile, only to realize that—of course—some stupid hesitancy totally compromised the sincerity of his voice. But even so, still he continued his charade of faux confusion. “What do you mean? Why would I be upset with you?”

Even though they had both come to a complete halt at this point, Prompto seemed as if he couldn’t bring himself to meet his eye. “It’s just… lately, you seem… weird. At least, around me, you do. I don’t know if you’re just really busy or something, but lately, you look like- I don’t know, like you don’t want to hang out with me...? Or something?”

The scene that was folding out before the prince’s eyes had instantly materialized a vice around his heart, and yet Noctis had somehow managed to force another smile onto his face in a desperate attempt to brush the matter off. “Prom, I’m sure you’re just imagining things,” he reassured next, this time surprisingly evenly in that nonchalant voice that he tended to use with Ignis during reprimands, his nerves sparking agitation nonetheless. “I always want to hang out with you.”

For some reason, Prompto seemed to be even more disconcerted at that response, the blonde’s eyes narrowing as they continued to bore into the ground. “I-It’s not just that…!” he protested with an unexpected look painted onto his face, his stammering voice noticeably quivering. “It’s- You- I mean, you don’t even seem like you want to _touch_ me anymore…! It’s like all of a sudden, for some reason, you can’t stand me anymore...”

For a second or two, the prince actually inadvertently found himself entertaining the thought that Prompto was in fact doing a pretty decent impression or articulation of his own insecurities from years ago, back when they hadn’t known each other at all. Back when the blonde was introverted and nervous just by being in his presence, scared that at any moment he’d somehow overstep whatever boundaries he’d set up by himself and end up getting rejected from being able to be the Prince of Lucis’ friend. Tiny little whispers of anxiety and dread continued to creep into said prince’s headspace along with that thought, Noctis in turn trying his best to hold them back, all whilst striving to maintain his supposed 'composure'. “P-Prom, really…”

Before he could once again deny the very notion of what his friend was suggesting, Prompto’s eyes finally met his own. Only the customary, cheerful orbs that constantly adorned the blonde’s face were instead replaced with borderline teary irises, fully drenched in trepidation. 

“Please, Noct… tell me if I did something to upset you.” He practically begged, Noctis’ heart stopping at the very sight, at that moment unable to even open his mouth to object. 

“I-I know that I’m a bit much,” Prompto messily continued, “and that I annoy you sometimes… B-But if you tell me what it is I did for you to so suddenly…”—There was a pause as the blonde sniffled in obvious frustration with himself—“Then maybe, I could try to… change it or something? I swear it, Noctis, I promise that I’ll try-“

And that was all that he could take.

“Prompto!” Noctis piercingly interjected despite their exposed location, the raven struggling to withhold his most personal of emotions, urgently trying to think of a way to defuse their exchange. He strenuously lowered his own voice. “You haven’t done anything wrong, seriously! You know that I love hanging out with you, I don’t… I don’t know where this is coming from! You’re- You’re sounding totally crazy right now-“

“Then why won’t you touch me anymore, Noctis…?!” Prompto sharply interrupted the raven’s pitiful pretence with an unstable voice, his tone having morphed into a soft shout that attracted stares from surrounding individuals. “Why don’t you want to look me in the eyes, won’t invite me over anymore? Why all of a sudden do you barely ever try to text me, or want to talk or study together with me, or just do… anything?!” 

Noctis swore he almost succumbed to cardiac arrest at that very moment. The desperate words that had poured out of Prompto’s mouth had acted as the biggest punch of realization to his face that he had felt in the longest time; it was the feared comprehension that his idiotic, now-obviously-failed attempt to ‘subtly’ distance his best friend from his life to ‘unfall in love with him’ was as stupid and shallow as it had sounded the first time round. Even though his actions were fuelled by the desire to place Prompto and their future together before his own selfish wants in the first place, he hadn’t even considered as to whether or not he could have caused any suffering on his friend’s part by doing so. He was too worried and fazed by his own feelings to even think about it.

And now there he was because of that, staring helplessly as his best friend, the one that he loved so damn much, finally had his tears spill over, the sheer insecurity of the blonde having him break down over his own convinced belief that he was sick of him. Perhaps even that he hated him. 

After Noctis worried so much over what he could do to make sure he’d never put Prompto or their friendship in jeopardy, unwilling to proceed with the one thing that could end up with them separating as friends; and in the end, all he had managed to do was _hurt_ him.

…It had been kind of jarring in that instant just to reflect over how profoundly he had fucked up.

“P-Prom, it’s not what you think,” Noctis swore tactlessly after a moment, the two of them still standing awkwardly in the middle of the pathway, the prince’s breathing erratic with worry, stomach churning with nausea. “You haven’t done anything, wrong, it’s… something else.”

There was a dense flicker of hope within the prince as to if the blonde would for some reason take such a crappy response; but of course, Prompto wasn’t going to accept some vague explanation from him. Maybe with somebody else he would’ve just let it go and simply complied; but not with him. Not when he had so much to lose.

“…Then what is it, Noctis?” he eventually inquired, scepticism in his words, eyes unable to hide the apparent hurt that he must have been feeling due to his obvious certainty that he was in the wrong. “Please, tell me then… why? Why all of a sudden have we become so distant…? …What did I do?”

His voice cracked on the last word.

“Prom, it’s not you, I swear…!” Noctis impulsively promised once again, his voice trembling with every word that poured out of his throat. The prince was succumbing to so many emotions in that very instant he couldn’t even pick apart his own muddled cacophony of thoughts, couldn’t think straight enough to fabricate some lie in the heat of the moment. 

So instead, he powerlessly dropped the erroneous façade. “I-It’s true, I have been distancing myself, I admit it—but it’s not because of something you did! It’s about me, Prom!” 

A strained breath was all the prince could reap before carrying on his distraught sentiments. “T-The truth is… the reason that I’ve been keeping myself away from you… it’s because…”

Six… was he really doing this?

“It’s because, I-I…” Noctis gradually managed to choke out again, his entire body abruptly alight with inexplicable heat, exploding sensation radiating out of every pore. “Prompto, it’s because I… I…!“

…I love you. Three little words. That was all he had to say. In that split-second, Noctis realized just how badly he wanted to say it in the first place. No, scream it. He wanted to scream it out with every ounce of raw emotion that he had been holding back for so long, arduously grabbing onto Prompto without restraint as he repeated the same line over and over. And that was in view of the fact that despite the unwillingness of his brain to accept it, they were of the utmost truth. No matter how hard he tried to deny it, to work around it, to change it—regardless of how much it all scared him; Noctis always plummeted back towards the same, unceasing conclusion.

He was irrevocably in love with Prompto Argentum. And nothing he could do would change that.

It was only then, once that irrefutable thought had crashed through his rational shield of worries and anxiety and into his thick, helpless skull, did the prince finally admit his own defeat. Only then, did he realize that he had no choice; he just had to tell him. Even though Prompto didn’t feel the same way as he did, and even if only bad could’ve been wrought from it; he had to at least say it. He had to get it out. He couldn’t keep lying to his friend—nor to himself. He had to tell Prompto those three words.

I love you.

…But of course, the declaration couldn’t leave his lips. Not there, Noctis evaluated with immense frustration as his innards’ heat rapidly diverted back to more comprehensible temperatures. Not by the side of some road, with strangers fluttering around them whilst shooting side-eyes at the teary blonde that couldn’t take his eyes off of the boy opposite him. 

Not where Prompto could merely walk away from him, slipping out of his desperate grasp before he could explain himself to the person who mattered most to him.

No, he had to come up with something else. He had to do whatever he could do to make it perfect. Even though the prince honestly expected nothing in return to his confession, it didn’t make said confession any less significant to him; it had to be done right. He needed to show Prompto that his feelings were genuine, and that he wasn’t pulling anything stupid. Without any hesitation, and without doubt. 

He just needed to show that he truly loved him.

So instead of confessing right there and then, Noctis had chosen to blurt out something else. The very first excuse that had come to his mind, simply spilling from his lips without any real consideration supporting the act. 

“…Ignis.”

The two boys stood staring at each other for a while as an uncaring breeze passed through them, neither of them making so much as a sound.

Noctis had immediately found himself discreetly biting into the inner corner of his cheek as he contemplated as to whether or not it could’ve been perceived as low, mindlessly pinning the blame for something so serious on somebody else; but then again, right then, the prince honestly didn’t have enough energy to care. His brain was too busy working double-time to figure out exactly why the hell Ignis was to blame for their present state of affairs.

Surprisingly enough, the raven actually had quite a few moments to think about it; Prompto appeared to have been completely stupefied by his eventual—and totally bullshit—answer.

“…Ignis?” Prompto finally repeated in a small voice, confusion obviously having penetrated through the blonde’s previous, pained conviction. It was definitely fair to say that his friend had been surprised by the response that the prince had so thoughtlessly announced, said prince in turn using that unusually lucky splash of hesitation to his advantage.

“Y-Yes. Ignis…” Noctis nodded slowly as he tried his best to feign authenticity and construct an explanation to somebody who knew his so well, his palms already sweaty, a hopefully unknown tell-tale sign that he was lying through his teeth. “Prom, the reason I’ve been… distant, lately… is because Ignis said that-”

In a split second, Noctis skimmed through his available options. He sought for something that would of course be believable on one hand, but also something that Ignis would actually be verbal about on the other… 

“I wasn’t taking my responsibilities seriously.” 

Bingo. Although a celebration for his uncommonly speedy explanation would have to wait, for a moment’s hesitation was all he could spare before continuing, lest he look like he was wavering for words. 

“He told me… that I was spending all of my time with you instead of obligating to my duties as a King should. He also said…” Noctis had hesitantly thought about it for a moment, before eventually adding, “…that my dad would be disappointed if he was to see my lack of commitment.”

The prince took a deep breath as he saw the look on Prompto’s face after he had said that last line, his nerves quivering uneasily for Ignis’ sake as he just barely managed to sort out the next words in his head. 

“So, I thought that if I stopped spending time with you for a little while, and showed Ignis that he was wrong about me, and that I did take my responsibilities seriously- uh, enough… then he’d ease up on me.”

Prompto continued to gape at him, his eyes wide, mouth slightly open. Noctis rushed to continue before his friend could ask any difficult questions; or even worse, get the wrong idea.

“B-But, I realize now that I was wrong to listen to him…! I shouldn’t have pushed you away, no matter what the reason was. Because… nothing is as important to me as you are, Prom. And- I’m sorry that I hurt you because of it.” Noctis swore with genuity in his voice, for once his words actually speaking truth, the prince inadvertently furrowing his brow in candid repent for his actions. And even though the blonde was unknowing of the fact that he was apologizing for a reason entirely different than from what he was spouting, the raven still poured his heart into those last words. 

Nervousness and worries continued to dance hand in hand with the prince’s guilt over lying to Prompto as the look on his best friend’s face morphed back and forth between various emotions, Noctis waiting impatiently for a response to finally hit him. At the very impression that his friend was about to open his mouth, the raven’s breath hitched.

“S-So… it’s not me?” finally came the stunned and soundingly rhetorical response.

Praise the Six.

“No, Prom!” Noctis sighed hugely in a single, spent laugh, an air of consolation and utmost relief radiating throughout his body without restraint, even despite his biting remorse. “You’re my best friend, of course it’s not about you…! This was my fault, Ignis just... got into my head. I was acting and thinking like a total idiot. …As usual.” He added jokingly, albeit gingerly, adorned with a hopefully unnoticeably tense smile.

It only took a second before his best friend’s arms were around him like a vice, the blonde carelessly sniffling whilst laughing as a poor citizen had to dodge the form of the prince shooting backwards from the sheer momentum of the embrace. “Gods, Noct, you _are_ an idiot!” Prompto scolded noisily from his compressed position on the raven, any supposed vexation having been completely nullified by the obvious joy and alleviation in his voice. “You big, dummy prince! You had me so damn worried, and for what? Because Ignis can’t see that you’re gonna be a totally awesome king one day?” A light-hearted scoff rang out from the blonde. “You chocobo-brain!”

Noctis feigned a protestful noise at the emotional reprimand, the prince having been hugging his friend back since his body had veered back forwards. Perhaps even a little bit too ardently. However, the blonde didn’t seem to notice. Either that, or he just didn’t care.

“Well hey, Prom, look at you!” Noctis teasingly jested after his nerves had calmed down for the most part, “You were actually willing to believe that I couldn’t stand your guts? You, the total bestest, most amazing person in my life?” He gasped dramatically—half for show, half in an actual attempt to try to breathe—“After all we’ve been through…!”

“Well, what was I supposed to think?” Prompto retorted as he continued to squeeze the life out of the prince’s organs, “You were acting like I all of a sudden had the plague or something! Subtlety is so _not_ part of your repertoire, dude.”

“That’s a big word.” Noctis quipped dryly.

“Oh, shut up.” Prompto snorted, his smile in his voice.

Eventually, the prince was released from his friend’s unyielding embrace, the sudden rush of oxygen flooding back into his insides rather harrowing; but he didn’t complain.

Prompto sighed as he rocked back onto his own heels. "I legit can't believe you had me this worried. Last time I was this worried, I- well, I can't remember the last time I was this worried. But at the time I probably did something crazy-dramatic. Like set fire to something."

Noctis smiled sheepishly.

“...So, are we good?” the prince eventually tried, despite the answer already having been pretty obvious for them both. Thank the Gods.

Prompto, bless him, actually whole-heartedly beamed at him before adding his own, “Yeah, we good." 

However, the smile gradually faltered after a second or two. “Although, Noct… you do know that you shouldn’t neglect all those princely duties and stuff for me, right…? I mean, you _are_ Noctis, but you’re also the prince—you could get into serious trouble if you bail out of work all the time, especially for me.”

The prince nodded, humming in sarcastic affirmation, suddenly feeling a whole lot more like his usual self. “Of course, I know that, Prom. And besides. You know me. I would _never_ abandon work just to play hooky with my best friend. Never, ever.”

“…Douche.” Prompto remarked, unable to conceal his grin. And to his own gratification, Noctis couldn’t hold back his smile, either.

All of a sudden, Prompto held his hand out outwards, an obvious indication that he wanted something from him.

“Hmm?” Noctis hummed in question, confused as to the intention behind the gesture.

“Your hand, dummy,” Prompto pointed out with a smirk as if it was obvious, “I’m not even letting you get the chance to get away, this time.”

Noctis laughed despite himself.

And the two actually held hands as they once again began to make their way back from the arcade. His friend’s hand felt warm in his own, and it just felt so right to be able to hold again. When the prince would squeeze down, Prompto would squeeze back in retaliation as if they were playing a game, a giggle waiting to spill from his lips.

…Those gorgeous, striking lips.

The abrupt, vivid thought had reality smacking the prince out of his daydreams, Noctis nearly tripping over his own feet as he remembered exactly what it was he was supposed to be doing. But even though he already had a notion as to what he wanted to suggest, the prince still had to muster up the courage simply to take the breath that would lead up to speaking. So much for feeling like his usual self.

“Uh… Hey, Prom…” he started awkwardly, his body already fidgeting in more ways than one. Prompto was momentarily distracted by his own arm swinging the prince’s back and forth between them, but the blonde met his eye after a bit, evidently waiting for him to continue. Noctis cleared his throat inelegantly. “As a sign of my… let’s say, gratitude, for you not simply kicking my lame ass to the curb over this thing, let me…” He inhaled a tense breath. “Lemme take you out for dinner tomorrow. Just us.”

Surprisingly enough to the raven, Prompto didn’t seem phased at all by the spontaneous offering. 

“Pppft, Noct, you don’t have to do that.” he casually declined as he normally would have after being offered something from the prince. And usually, if he wasn’t aiming to spoil his friend, Noctis wouldn’t have remarked on the matter, knowing full-well that that was just how Prompto functioned. 

However, as it had been, he had reason to press.

“N-No, I want to. Someplace nice. I could use a night out with you.” For some odd reason, he confusingly felt compelled to add, “I mean… unless you don’t want to spend time with me…?”

His compulsion was probably just a side effect over how bad he felt for plotting and lying to his best friend; but even so, Prompto thankfully brushed off the deadlock suggestion with a telling huff of breath. “If that’s the case, then we should be spending time _studying,_ not messing around and grabbing food, Noct. When was the last time we studied together? You’ve probably been falling behind, not having your valuable study buddy by your side after all this time.” 

Despite the private uneasiness Noctis felt over that last sentiment having reminded him of the past two weeks, the prince decidedly pressed once more. “Humour me. Please…?”

Prompto gazed over at the prince, continuing to swing both of their arms as a look of objection, gradually followed by a look of mischievousness, gradually painted itself onto the blonde’s bright features. “…Okay, Noct. I won’t tell my parents I’m skipping homework if you won’t.”

“Deal.”

“Okay then. It’s a date,” Prompto playfully joked, a charming wink accompanying.

Noctis merely squeezed his hand once more.

Skip forward past the rest of the way back, the rather uneasy yet affable goodbye as the two went their separate ways, the spectacular collapsing of the prince’s body crumpling onto his bed for the rest of the evening until slumber finally took hold of his timid conscience, and here he was. Having succumbed to a most unforgiving sleep, along with having woken up at a time so diabolically early he couldn’t even fathom it, only to migrate to his inviting couch until he could finally muster up the courage to cradle his cell phone into his nervous hand to search for the perfect manner in which he could confess. 

Clearly, a date concealed as some spontaneous night out with his best friend was probably not the most elegant or prestigious of choices, but the prince was working with what he had.

Truth be told, when he was a lot younger than he was now, the raven would’ve thought that searching for somebody else’s definition of an ideal date would be totally irrational, and that it would’ve been more engaging and more appreciated if it had come straight from the heart, without any additional and unnecessary effort exerted. Noctis had been under the impression that simply being yourself was perfect sentiment enough, and that nothing else mattered but that.

Well, right now, the prince could concede that such an idealistic notion was obviously _not_ going to accomplish much for him. 

Noctis had to be serious with himself. He was certainly _not_ some kind of glistening knight on his trusty stead. He wasn’t some ‘prince charming’, wooing all of the women—and for this matter, men—with a simple flash of his teeth, adorned with an oh-so-endearing wink. He was awkward, and he was anxious, and when he so much as _thought_ about something that would merely implicate towards his feelings when he was around Prompto, he’d turn into a babbling mess of a human; so just ‘being himself’ was surely out of the question for what he had in mind. For the moment where he would finally disclose his feelings to be without blemish. 

But of course, with the Gods so blatantly having it out for him, whilst he did know Prompto down to a T, he also just so happened to be almost entirely unaccustomed to the concept of dating. Whilst Prompto was a total fan of those sappy romance movies, and Gladiolus for his ardent intimacy novels, Noctis had never found any outstanding interest in such things—so, whenever he was exposed to said topics, he’d never actually pay any real attention to how all the dates and things were to be properly executed. 

A regrettable choice now, he could concede.

What he was certain of, at least, was that a meal—and in his case, dinner—was to be arranged, and… 

…Well, that was about it. 

But focusing on the only subject that he knew for sure was a given, Noctis deduced that he certainly couldn’t just take Prompto to a place like Kenny’s like he usually would. Whilst on one hand the prince would probably feel the most comfortable in such a familiar place, the words ‘passionate’ and ‘romantic’ just didn’t fit into the same sentence as ‘fast-food restaurant’. And so, it became fairly clear that he would just have to shift out of his comfort zone for this ordeal. For not just the meal, but absolutely everything. For Prompto, he wanted every perceivable aspect to be toiling away in his favour for the approaching evening. 

This was, needless to say, solely due to his desire to do everything properly for such an extensive event, to finally share his most personal of feelings to the one he loved in the most absolute and optimum way that he could possibly manage. For both him, and Prompto. 

…But of course, life wasn’t quite as simple for only a single, straightforward motive to exist for him. Because deep down, within the darkest chasms of his conscience, lay a dangerously harmful, and possibly even self-destructive incentive that the prince wouldn’t dare admit even to himself. It was the other, less innocent reason he wanted it all to be completely ideal.

But whatever. Whether he allowed himself to contemplate over why exactly he wanted what he wanted, it was impeccability that he craved in the end, either way. And it was that in particular which he alone could not even hope to achieve. 

So of course, he immediately sought the indispensable aid of his good old friend—the internet.

Having scrolled through an incognito tab for a little while, Noctis passed various results that matched his initial search, each one’s introductions differing in wording and professed guarantees. Eventually, after a few moments of glancing over various sites’ titles and descriptions, the prince caught himself peering curiously at the summary of an honestly average-looking article. 

‘Insomnia’s Guide To A Perfect Date’. 

This account in particular was advertised to supposedly list off ‘every important step to succeed in impressing and satisfying your crush and their desires upon your first date.’

Whilst Noctis didn’t really think that trying to _impress_ Prompto was relevant even in the slightest, it _was_ to be his first date—if he could even call it that—and the summary looked as promising as any other did. Why his eyes caught onto this particular article, he couldn’t say; but with an inner shrug of acceptance, the prince clicked on, and at long last began his quest to absorb absolutely everything he could.

A typical introduction and insertion were provided by the author, followed by some predictable questions that readers who’d click onto such an article would find relatable. Noctis ignored all of the attention-grabbing comments with an unimpressed grunt, skimming down to the actual article.

His eyes landed on one of the first decent-looking paragraphs.

_’Insomnia has one of the largest arrays of attractions on Eos, from amusement parks to museums—find out what the girl you like is interested in, and make some exciting or leisurely plans for before you take her out for a meal. Not only will this increase the time that you both get to spend together, but having a great time beforehand will likely decrease the chances of your date going down in history as having been an awkward event.’_

Noctis considered this for quite some time, momentarily entertaining the thought that maybe he could take Prompto to explore some markets before their dinner date, or perhaps some fair where they could ride on a Ferris wheel like some pining anime couple.

But then again, thinking back to his painfully awkward proposal to the blonde that he had given out without much intelligent thought, he had indeed offered Prompto to _dinner,_ not some play date. 

So once again, the prince skimmed onward, past that section of the article, his impatience and annoyance growing even further. The fidgeting was at an all-time high.

 _‘Fellas, girls will appreciate an air of sophistication. For the food-based portion of your date, you want to give the impression of having both refined taste and wealth to woo and seek the favour of your date; so, save up your cash, and indulge her with a reservation to a fancy restaurant.’_ A few suggestions within the city’s walls were listed. _‘Impress her, and please her, and it will surely pay off in the long run.’_

Noctis found himself biting his lip in due thought at this, appraising what he had just been informed with. He knew that Prompto was certainly not one to involve himself with anything that screamed out rich or proper, the prince certainly feeling exactly the same way. But then again, whilst his friend definitely wouldn’t be ‘wooed’ by him and the obvious fact that he had money, he’d probably appreciate the lavish indulgence nonetheless. Along with this, the raven also kind of figured that a very grand and chic location _would_ be rather romantic…

So, not long after some intense deliberation on Noctis’ part, the Prince of Lucis had made top-tier reservations at one of the most expensive restaurants in all of Insomnia, nestled on the top of a skyscraper near the citadel. He’d been there once, with his dad, and had made the abrupt decision to never willingly go back into such an uncomfortably extravagant scene; but he guessed that now, for Prompto, he’d just have to make an exception.

_’All things considered, you’re going to want to look your very best. A casual but striking outfit will do nicely for a day-time date. And considering that Insomnia is perfect for fancy dinner dates, you’d do yourself well by fitting into a smart and debonair blazer of some kind. If you’ve got the money, get yourself fitted at one of Insomnia’s fine tailors. Your look is definitely going to impact your chances of a second date, and you’re going to want to look as fashionable as possible._

_So, whether it’s breakfast, lunch, or dinner, you’re aiming to dress to impress; make yourself look sharp and refined.’_

Despite his commitment to make sure he followed all of the correct steps that he was being provided, Noctis grimaced at this segment in particular. A 5-star restaurant was certainly one thing, but some fancy outfit was definitely going a bit far.

_’So, you both had a good time, and you’ve finished eating, signalling that it’s time to finish up. If it hasn’t already been brought up, try your best to plan for a second date. Ask politely, but also try to enforce your enjoyment and hope into your words when you ask. Get your date to feel special, and make sure she understands just how much you feel for her. This will hopefully motivate her even more so to see you once again. And of course, since it is you who planned the date, you should pay for the food. A good idea is to tip extra upon finishing, making sure she sees how much you do, just to impress her.’_

A frown once again graced the prince’s lips after having read that last bit. Reading through a few other sections, the immense, one-sided efforts that were constantly being pressured and restated honestly had the raven doubting the authenticity of the article. With all of these hoops that he was supposedly meant to jump through for this hypothetical date, it felt as if he should just worship the damn person whilst he was at it. Was simply earning the favour of the one you had feelings for genuinely so demanding...? 

But after a few moments of adequate consideration, Noctis sank back to the conclusion that all of this was just how it worked. Because after all, he speculated that for Prompto, he _would_ indeed give him the world if he could. So excessive exertion was to be expected, he guessed.

And anyways, whilst his friend was rather persistent that they split any check that they got, Noctis _did_ end up paying for most of their expenses, mostly because… well, he could. So, for his situation, he couldn’t really complain about the finances.

But with all of that out of the way, Noctis soon found himself at the end of the article.

 _’After following every step on this list, it’d be hard for you_ not _to get a good-bye kiss. Gratitude can be expressed in many ways after a date, but the most pronounced and appreciated will certainly be that legendary first kiss for all your efforts.’_

Noctis accidentally found himself stupidly imagining such an unobtainable thing—for longer than he’d like to admit—that horrid aspiration sparking its ugly face into the back of his mind. The prince willed it away with every ounce of strength that was in his body, dismissive and abusive thoughts soaring after the spot where it was last felt just in case. Meanwhile, Noctis quickly distracted himself with the rest of the conclusion.

_’But if you didn’t, then don’t fret; there’s always next time. After all, it definitely depends on what kind of girl your date is, so don’t beat yourself up over it. There’s always just the chance she has to warm up to you before she can express her sentiments. Be patient, and you’ll eventually get to that point. So to all you readers out there, I send my wishes that your dates go as swimmingly as possible, and I hope this will help you win her over. Thank you for reading, and good luck, my dudes.’_

Noctis took a deep, spent breath as he finally removed his gaze from his phone—although his fatigue was certainly no match for the sudden barrage of zeal that had abruptly infiltrated his system. His brain was literally doing laps in his head, racing over what he had just learned, hundreds of possibilities and ideas all bursting out before his eyes at once, the lack of order certainly enough to have driven Ignis mad.

When was he supposed to pick up Prompto? Or was Prompto going to come to his place, instead? Noctis blinked thoughtfully, a low murmur escaping him as he mused over that notion. Whilst Prompto came over to his place all the time, the former definitely sounded far more date-like, so it was that which he decided to do.

And he also had to pick out his own outfit. Maybe he could try for something that was at least well-kept, the kind of look that was totally dissimilar to his customary, comfy clothing…? And he could also spend some more time on his hair, perhaps. The prince figured he wanted to set a demeanour that would surely surprise Prompto in the best way possible.

And speaking of such, he could tell Prompto that he got reservations at some nice restaurant, not giving any details or possibilities as for him to guess where, along with that he as well had to dress nicely, discarding the usual wacky—but ever-so-endearing—type-clothes for something more remarkable. Like jeans or something.

The prince nodded quickly to himself as countless pieces of his apparent plan started amalgamating and coming together, the morning sun that was shining through the curtains lighting up his figure as he stood up from the couch, determination brewing. 

He had to get ready.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you enjoy this story so far? Because I'm pretty sure you didn't XD
> 
> But here's to hoping that you did! <3
> 
> But anyways, time for the serious stuff. I have been having some crappy struggles with my writing. As you can tell, going from February to last week, I've merely done this amount of writing. Minusing a story which I started and then quit. So probably March to last week. Which is utterly DISMAL. But I've gotten into the hang of it lately, I think, and have improved to writing 500 words a day. Not as good as I used to be, sure, but I'm not going to push it. 
> 
> This means, updates will be 2-3 weeks apart. I think monthly is a bit long, but I'm certainly not going to cross out the possibility, because University does take up a lot of my time, along with my part-time job. Also, I've never had a 'beta', so I do all my writing by myself. Hence, time. Do I care? Honestly, no. I spent too long making myself suffer for (failed) weekly updates. F**k those things lol 
> 
> So yeah, the second chapter of this story will be out in a little while, because I've already started, and am liking where it's going. I really hope it's going to be a bit better than this first chapter (which by the way, sorry everything drags out SO much ^^' ) so... yeah.
> 
> I also deduced that this writing style, with the perspective narrative dialogue and all that, might fit nicely into a longer story with multiple updates, but honestly, this fic was meant to be one chapter, so... I guess it doesn't work XD
> 
> But hey, maybe somebody actually enjoyed it lol
> 
> But now, on to the ANNOUNCEMENT...!!! <33333
> 
> To all my lovely readers out there that were so crazily supportive of me in my last story, I literally want to hug the absolute life out of you. But instead of that, I've made the decision to write some one-shot gift-fics to some of you (so if your name isn't on the upcoming list, and you think it _should_ be on the upcoming list, either I forgot about you—sorry lol—or I'm just being sparing with my hand-outs, because I don't want to feel overwhelmed). 
> 
> What this means, is that once I'm finished writing all of these, I'll float right back to finishing 'An Unethical Relationship'. A lot's already been planned out, so it's mainly just the writing portion of it. And I'm hoping that some gift-fics will get me into that kind of mode X3
> 
> So here we are:
> 
>  **IRMA_VEP.** For being an absolutely incredible support to me, I literally drown you in hugs. >W<
> 
>  **BlackMorc.** Because I want to. Cheers to mah girl. <3
> 
>  **Carrimimi.** For being one of the bestest authors to me as a person. For all of you who don't know her, I'd recommend checking out her on-going story 'Solo'. It's certainly unique, but I swear it will literally grow on you like leg hairs after a shave. ;3
> 
>  **LazuliAlekto.** One of the first authors on Ao3 in which I remembered their names. An absolute inspiration. My favourite IgNoct author. If you ship these two, then I highly recommend checking her out! <333 
> 
> **Emmish.** For being both a lovely support to me, and a super kind Promptis author with amazing stories. ^w^
> 
>  **k4tLeYa.** Simply for being awesome X3
> 
> (P.S. I'd write **Interstella,** but it'd be like gifting trash to a Goddess, and **MagitekUnit05953234,** but once again, trash to a divine angel, along with **Yeaka,** but literally same story XD )
> 
> DISCLAIMER: not saying that the authors that I am writing gift-fics to AREN'T divine angels, but to the authors I'm not writing for, I'm just giving really nice compliments instead <3
> 
> So to you glorious people on this list, simply tell me in the comments down below what you want, along with if you want narrative-style writing with thoughts and all that, or strictly third-person type stuff. And besides Lazuli, I'm fairly certain that you all ship Promptis, which I just so happen to specialize in, so that would definitely be preferred XD  
> Go nuts. I'm willing to do anything. Well, almost anything lol
> 
> And I know that if it were me, I'd be super nervous and all like "ooh, you don't have to do that...!" but like literally do it. I legit implore you, from fluffy cuteness to heaty smut, I'll write it for you. Hugs >w<
> 
> But like, if you really, REALLY don't want one, then I guess it's fine. Just means less time until I can move onto my original fic XD
> 
> Also, I noticed that said story still has THIRTY-THREE bookmarks. So to all of you who have been so wondrously patient, I LOVE YOU...?!?!?! I'LL TRY MY BEST TO GET THERE SOON...!!! <3333333
> 
> And... there you go. All done. X3
> 
> Literally took me an hour to write these notes lmao


	2. The First Half Of The Second Half

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, remember how I said that I was certain that the second chapter would hopefully be better than the first? Now I'm not quite sure lol. But this is the same feeling I had towards that chapter, and you guys actually seemed to enjoy it...? Which is like, really amazing?! <3
> 
> So maybe I'm just being hyper-critical of myself and can't see the good in anything I do. But maybe this honestly just really isn't it. Please tell me in the comments below what you think!!! >W<
> 
> Like, genuinely, please tell me if this feels like an essay instead of a story. I was trying my best to have this story a one-shot, and then it amalgamated into a two-shot, and I once again tried my best to keep it that way, but I failed and now we have three chapters and jesus christ I'm so sorry ;w;
> 
> But I dare once again say that I really hope you enjoy! I loves you all!!! <333
> 
> (P.S. sorry for the long wait, 1st and 2nd weeks after posting left me with little time to write, I only really started getting going in the third, hence the month-long wait. Not entirely the story's fault ^^' )

So, it turns out that Noctis had to go and buy clothes. 

The rather handsome shirt that the prince had in mind for wearing out with Prompto was forgottenly buried somewhere within the menacing depths of the hamper—and the Six had another thing coming if they thought that he was going to actually go in and _wash_ them—and the winsome bottoms he thought would pair nicely with them were, naturally, nowhere to be found. After a livid search for the elusive missing pants, the prince had eventually given up entirely on the idea of that outfit, that having been followed up by a chaotic ransacking of his entire closet for something that he wanted to wear. Only, after a solid twenty minutes of searching, having found too casual, too fancy, and of course, no in-betweens, the raven concluded that nothing suited his apparent tastes for the evening. This was, needless to say, totally unlike him, the prince that would literally throw on anything so long as it was comfortable—but even so, it appeared that the supposed look that he wasn’t even sure of was currently far away from any wardrobe of his. 

So, one time-consuming shopping trip later, the sun having risen considerably since his initial departure, and the prince was back in his apartment; only this time, accompanied with well-fitting, inky black jeans, paired with a dusky, greyish sweater-type top, the combination of the two, in his opinion, hitting that both casual and yet elegant mark that he was looking for. He would certainly stand out from the other citizens who’d be clad in their undoubtedly regal blazers and dresses, but the prince was yet to find himself willing to care. His hatred for suits still reigned supreme over other’s opinions over his conflicting sense of proper fashion.

Thus, with the reservations and the clothing having been sorted out, Noctis decided that before it got any later, he was going to call Prompto to inform him of their dinner plans. 

Truth be told, the prince could’ve just sent a text and emoji like he normally would’ve, or he could’ve waited until much later to notify his friend of their booking, having plenty of time to spare before the actual event itself; but with a quick glance at his own inner sentiments, it appeared evident that neither of those things were going to happen.

Maybe he was just being doltish, but Noctis found that spanning from the very instant he and Prompto had separated until right up to the current moment, the absence of communication between the two of them felt as if it were somehow dire. Even with the vibrant memory of the previous day’s insightful outcome in mind, his lengthy period of communicative confinement couldn’t quite cease from affecting his current mindset. It was true that—regardless of how it happened—they had at least solved the distancing aspect of the problem; but from spending every waking moment with each other to barely conversing for so long… Even despite the fact that they _were_ in fact together for certain periods of time, they honestly might as well not have been; and it was due to that notion that had Noctis honestly just _missing_ the blonde. And it wasn’t even due to some new love-enforced perception—Noctis genuinely just craved the company of his best friend. The time they spent talking the day prior had not lasted nearly long enough. He still missed Prompto’s cheerful and uplifting presence, missed his good-humoured voice, and even his smell. He missed his winsome laugh, and the feeling of his lean but strong arms encased around him. The prince missed the way that no matter how down he himself was feeling, the blonde could always turn his mood around with nothing but a geeky pull of the lips. 

Having so dolefully avoided the individual who held both the title of best friend and love of his life for two entire weeks has proven to induce some hefty and insatiable withdrawals, so it seemed.

Consequently, despite it sounding so incredibly mushy that it was almost down-right offensive… Noctis didn’t feel like waiting any longer to be able to hear Prompto’s voice. 

Yanking his cell phone out of his pocket with both mild and keen haste as he made his way to the lounge, the prince speed-dialled his friend, emotions twirling wildly around inside of him already. 

He had half a mind to pick apart exactly how many feelings were pirouetting within him before diving right into it, but he actually couldn’t think on the matter for too long; the call was, fondly enough, customarily answered on the second ring. “ _Noct?”_ Prompto’s personable voice rang out rather breathily, the reason for such being a fair mystery to the raven at least for the time being. Be that as it may, it still managed to make Noctis feel like dancing.

“Uh, hey, Prom!” the prince eagerly responded in an oddly high voice, his avidity audible even to himself. He couldn’t help but flourish off of the familiar and missed sensation of just speaking with the blonde, even if it was, after all, just over the phone. “What are you up to?”

There was a drawn-out breath from the other end of the line, Noctis swiftly collapsing onto his favourite couch as he impatiently awaited his response. _“Well, I had to clean up my place this morning,”_ came the somewhat raspy reply, followed by yet another deep inhale, _“So I’m only going for my morning run now. Sorry if I sound all gross and stuff; I’m just short on oxygen.”_

Noctis gave a short laugh at that, the raven shifting on his seat as he accidentally imagined the way Prompto was panting from the physical exertion, fervent moisture adorning his forehead, the blonde standing in his running clothes with one hand on his knee supporting himself, the other keeping his phone to his ear. Unbridled ardour caused the prince to be unable to deny that it was honestly a delectable image. “Sorry for interrupting your daily ritual, Prom.”

 _”It’s fine,”_ Prompto replied cheerfully, seemingly having retained some more control over his own breathing, the usual chime of the blonde’s voice a blessing to the prince’s longing heart. Noctis actually found himself lost for words at the gratifying sensation, his unhelpfully out-of-control thoughts only interrupted by the blonde’s eventual interjection. _“So Noct, I love a spontaneous phone call and all, but I’d actually love to know exactly_ why _you are interrupting my daily ritual?”_

Noctis coughed inadvertently as he sat up straighter on the sofa, blushing internally at his own lack of mental coordination. Now _that_ was definitely a love-enforced reaction. 

It _was_ true that the raven had come to terms with the conviction that he wasn’t going to lie to himself about his feelings, or block Prompto out of his head altogether, having bulldozed his mental boundaries out of existence—but even in spite of his acceptance over the matter, his mind still grew a tad fanatical whenever it stumbled even closely towards the topic of his best friend and himself. And that just so happened to occur a lot. So even though the desire to be in the blonde’s embrace was so damn intense, it didn’t mean that he wasn’t going to be rendered a floundering hot mess due to his own vehement but stupidly timid adoration. Which was… embarrassingly unfortunate. “Oh. Uh, right. Yeah.” the raven chuckled awkwardly after a bit, scratching the back of his neck with his free hand. Noctis took a deep breath before continuing, figuring that he’d just go for it. “So, uh- Prom, I just wanted to tell you that for dinner tonight… I made reservations for five, okay?”

Despite the prince’s particular distaste for the extravagant restaurant that he was taking Prompto to, he couldn’t deny the fact that the view of Insomnia that was provided from the towering building’s top floor was indeed rather captivating. Five o’clock simply meant that a sunset was going to accompany their date, and he certainly hadn’t objected to the fetching aesthetic upon making their reservations.

Noctis was about to ask if the time suited him merely out of apparent politeness, but he was beaten to the punch before he could try. _“Oh. Reservations…?”_ Prompto inquired, his discernible surprise on that last word distinct even through the raven’s phone.

“Y-Yeah,” Noctis confirmed hesitantly as his heart skipped a beat, the prince hastily adding, “Just in case, y’know?” 

A decent chunk of silence proceeded from both ends of the line, Prompto probably just processing the unexpected information, a suddenly anxious Noctis on the other hand helplessly fretting over every other conceivable thing that the blonde might’ve been doing instead of that. _“Okay.”_ came the affirmation at last, _“Duly noted.”_

A tiny, relieved little firework soared up and burst within Noctis as he hastily nodded to himself, smiling inwardly at the beyond-pleasing confirmation. “Good.”

The prince’s abrupt solace was a wondrous thing, the raven distractedly staring into space as he began to once again consider elements of his plans now that the reservation was set in stone—this all went down whilst enduring seconds rolled by, never to be seen again. 

_“So uh, thanks for telling me, dude.”_ Prompto’s voice finally announced into his ear, Noctis instantly snapping out of the daze and cringing at himself for once again acting so stupidly. He shot up from the couch in a supposed attempt to jump-start his jumbled head-space into function.

 _“Although, in spite of the fact that I’m really happy that you’re calling me, I will say that I_ am _sorta surprised that you did, coz I was under the impression that we were both living in_ this _century,”_ Prompto light-heartedly joked, _“Why didn’t you just text me?”_

Noctis fell short right there in the middle of the living room, a tiny interjection of noise escaping his lips. He hadn’t actually expected the blonde to catch onto the unusual detail that he was phoning him instead of texting him. His brain was way too overrun with the stupidly happy notion of getting to speak to Prompto again to even think that far ahead. 

Rationality had already started infiltrating his system at this point, Noctis suddenly feeling like one of those old-fashioned parents, calling their child for something mediocre instead of simply texting them. It was due to this that the prince once again found himself scavenging for some excuse as to why he had done something odd. Even though this time it wasn’t even a big deal in any way, shape, or form, his stomach was doing backflips nonetheless.

Realizing that once again he was simply wallowing in perplexed thought, the prince, in his impulsive haste to fill the quietude, began to just blubber out an introduction to his apparent ‘reason’ for calling the blonde.

“Oh. W-Well…” Noctis stuttered, his brain chucking random excuses at him at lightspeed.

He forgot texting existed. Ignis banned him from texting as a punishment for destroying his homework. Gladiolus thought it’d be funny to dare him not to text anymore. Somebody died and so he had no choice but to call him as a text would’ve been too impersonal—just whatever the hell it was, do _not_ say-

“…I guess I just wanted to hear your voice.”

…There wasn’t an immediate response. Because of this, Noctis mentally doubled back, perceiving and evaluating exactly what had come out of his mouth, confirming it to be exactly what he thought it might have been, and finally relievedly assuring himself that his apartment was definitely high enough from the ground so that somersaulting through his open window would definitely land him in a casket.

Prompto was apparently having a reaction of similar intensity. _“…O-Oh- okay, then. That’s… wow. That’s, uh- nice of you to say.”_

This was it. Game over. It was finally go time. It was finally time for Noctis to melt.

A dreadful silence accompanied the now stagnant air, the open window looking more and more inviting by the second.

 _“W-Well then, Noct. Reservations for five?”_ Prompto’s voice stammered out gawkily at last, the blonde definitely perturbed at the appalling statement the prince had just spouted.

“Y-Yeah.” was all Noctis could get out. Nothing more than a single syllable, and yet it still sounded as if he were somehow choking.

 _“O-Okay then,”_ Prompto squeaked, followed up with a noticeably forced laugh. _”So I’ll be at your place at… four? Four-thirty?”_

Despite the raven’s unparalleled desire to hang up in that very instant out of sheer mortification, dramatic flashes of the dating article’s directives sparked before his eyes within milliseconds, his unforgotten flaming desire to perfect their date somehow overpowering his abrupt distress over his own blinding idiocy.

“A-Ah, no-“ Noctis spluttered out clumsily, his features scrunching up in shame as he forced himself to endure. “I’ll come and pick you up in the Regalia, so don’t worry about- uh, coming over to my place.”

Another few moments of treacherous silence passed, cardiac arrest unfortunately not claiming the prince before chagrin could yet again saturate his twitching body. _“…Woah, you want to pick me up?”_ Prompto finally reiterated, soundingly both surprised and more or less amused with the notion. _“Am I still speaking with Noctis, or has Ignis taken the reins of this conversation?”_

He could tell by the way Prompto had made that interjection that he was trying to defuse something with some humour, most certainly the raven’s previous, gag-inducing statement. Noctis happily played along—albeit still silently cursing himself—whilst forcing a single chuckle in response to the jest. Which was a bad idea. It sounded like somebody had smacked him in the throat. “Er, no, unfortunately, it’s still me.”

 _“So… why do you want to pick me up, dude?”_ —The casual use of the word ‘dude’ gave a small but satisfying air of comfort to the conversation, Noctis sighing softly as his embarrassment gave hope of receding— _“I’ve walked to your apartment more times than I can count, I hardly think that I’ll get lost. Or is it perhaps that…”_ A sizeable gasp ensued. _“-Is this one of those things where I’m supposed to play along with whatever you say because there’s a bad guy forcing you to and they can hear what I’m saying? Am I an instrumental piece to the kidnapping plan? Is somebody holding a gun to your head right now…?”_ Another dramatic inhale. _“Oh wow, that’d be like… so scary, dude. I honestly wouldn’t have a clue what to do if that happened. How would you even be able to tell me that that is what’s actually happening? Aren’t you supposed to wink twice or something to alert me because you can’t say it aloud?”_ A pause. _“Oh wait, L-O-L, I can’t even see you right now, so I wouldn’t suggest you try that, haha.”_ There was another contemplative interlude. _“Uh… Six, Noct, I don’t know. Help a buddy out, what do you think we should do…?”_

On a note where his current distress was momentarily put aside, Noctis figured that he couldn’t really think of a way as to how he’d be able to explain the sudden turn of their conversation to anybody other than himself. But without a doubt, he knew he wouldn’t want Prompto any other way. And incredibly enough, Noctis had actually managed to calm down considerably after listening to the blonde’s little babbling outburst. A little smile had even managed to take a temporary hold of his features. “Prom, despite your much-appreciated worry over me and whether or not I myself can come up with the solution to me being held hostage when I am the one who is supposed to have a gun to my head, that’s not why I’m going to pick you up.”

Prompto giggled—this time, a genuine and authentic chime—and damn, if it wasn’t one of the most angelic sounds ever, then literally nothing was. _“Okay, boring. Then what is it? What triggered your inner old man to come out? Is there something you gotta tell me, Noct?”_

“Ah- no, not particularly. It’s because- well, you know…” Noctis mumbled out roughly, the prince promptly tensing once more as he—for what felt like the millionth time—scoured his brain for yet _another_ appropriate lie, the intense will to once again find a plausible reason causing his insides to pull tighter than a church girl’s- uh, robes. “I… just want you to be safe, is all.” was what he eventually settled with.

This period of silence lasted a tad longer than the prince would’ve found to be desirable. Despite the satisfying coolth of his apartment, he swore he might actually end up sweating. _“Noct, are you okay?”_ Prompto finally asked in a slightly more serious sounding voice, _“Is something going on?”_

His friend’s voice had embodied both hints of confusion and cautiousness, Noctis’ heart all of a sudden threatening to burst in his chest. In spite of that, the raven rushed to attempt to maintain a plausible composure. “W-What?” came the helplessly facile response that was paired with a lifeless-sounding laugh, the raven trying to mask his sheer panic regarding his friend’s obvious wariness over him with a supposedly mellow tone. “Nothing’s going on, Prom. I’m just being considerate over your well-being, is all. Is that so wrong?”

Prompto gave out a suspicious snort. _“I wouldn’t even have to have known you for as long as I do to see that you’re totally both lying_ and _hiding something, Noct. It sounds like you just blew up your kitchen and so you don’t want me anywhere near your apartment, lest I blackmail you into becoming my eternal slave as the price for my silence on the matter. And the way you’re talking so hesitantly makes me feel as if you’re afraid that Ignis might be monitoring the phone lines.”_

Noctis stood there silently, his helpless brain unable to shoot out anything but blanks as he failed to come up with something to respond to that with. But alas, his obviously traitorous mind wasn’t going to aid him for any longer, the prince eventually just releasing a great sigh, decidedly giving up on trying to make any more excuses. So a stupid, fat sliver of alertness and curiosity had unfortunately sneaked into his friend’s head about their dinner plans. Oh-fucking-well. At this point, Noctis didn’t give a damn anymore; he just wanted to hang up before he made things worse.

“Okay, well, that’s just what is going to happen.” Noctis huffed in exasperation, “ I’ll pick you up, and then I’ll drive us there. It’s just dinner, Prom, and me driving us there is- well, I’m just… trying to be friendly.”

Noctis heard Prompto click his tongue in scrutiny. _“You know, Noct, we shouldn’t be keeping secrets from each other. Aren’t we supposed to be best friends…? What does that even mean to you if we can’t at least bring ourselves to be honest with one another, hmm?”_

Noctis squinted at the air as a petite little grin gradually pulled at his cheeks after seeing that Prompto could totally see right through him yet again, even without him even being present. It was just so like him. The unconstraining familiarity had the prince’s customary, more laid-back demeanour proving to prevail over his disjointed emotions, his momentary relaxation allowing his tongue to spark instinctively. “Oh? You want us to be completely honest with one another, Prom? Okay then. Would you please tell me why I was given an entire day’s worth of extra homework because the Altissian macarons that Ignis was gifted miraculously disappeared from the plate they were so harmlessly laying on, when I quite distinctly remember me not even being conscious during-”

 _“-Okay, okay, shut up, Ignis might actually be listening in on this, dude.”_ Prompto hastily cut in, Noctis smirking triumphantly at the gratifying reaction. _“And hey, as far as you know, you ate those in your sleep, remember?”_

Noctis’ grin just grew wider as he stood there, his point not even needing words to prove itself. 

_“Ugh, okay then, whatever.”_ Prompto finally grumbled in defeat, _“I’ll shut up and let you give me a royal escort to the restaurant for whatever reason, no biggie. But considering just how totally unsafe it’d be for me to drive in a royalty-owned, heavily armoured vehicle with the prince of the entire kingdom by my side, why don’t we assign some security detail as well, Your Highness? Y’know, just in case.”_

“Har har,” Noctis muttered dryly, pausing before sighing when he realized he was out of things to say, this signalling the end of their conversation. He found himself both glad and disappointed, oddly enough. The prince flippantly added on, “Well, it was good talking with you again, you dope.”

Noctis was expecting a joke of some kind in response, but instead a hesitant utterance from the other line emitted. _“A-Ah, yeah, Noct, me too,”_ Prompto gingerly replied in a suddenly-genuine sounding voice, no traces of humour taking away from the sentiment of his next words. _“It’s… really nice to be talking with you again, Noct.”_

Noctis’ heart actually managed to completely skip a beat, the prince glad his friend wasn’t present to see the way his face flushed at the sincere articulation.

 _“And I’m also totally looking forwards to skipping homework with you.”_ the blonde added audaciously, his beautiful smile in his voice.

Holding an effusive hand over his chest, Noctis grinned blithely. “Same here, Prom, same here.”

And with that, Prompto released a content, conclusive exhale. _“Okay, well now I best be going. I want to get the heck out of these sweaty clothes—I smell like Gladiolus after one of his two-hour treks around the city.”_

Ignoring the latter, more disgusting portion of that sentiment, Noctis instantly perked up at the reminder that the former brought forth. “Ah-“ he faltered, quickly organizing his words in his head to the best of his ability, “-and also, remember that we’re going somewhere nice? So, try to wear something cool. Like those jeans that I picked out for you that one time.”

 _“Okay, okay,”_ Prompto said in a purposely dismissive voice, _“Wear something good-looking even though I’ll still look pale in comparison to the super-hot, make-all-the-girls-squeal prince who will be right there next to me, you got it, Noct.”_

Despite half of him wanting to yell out at the blonde that he wasn’t even remotely close to the truth about who exactly the most exquisite of the two of them was, the other half actually had Noctis smirking. Perhaps he was subconsciously miffed with the blonde for inadvertently embarrassing him so. “Maybe it’s the hair, Prom,” the prince jested in a candid voice, “Chocobo asses aren’t exactly in season anymore…”

A dramatic sound of indignation resounded from the other end of the line, the raven nibbling on his lip to prevent his laugh from releasing. _“How many times do I have to tell you, my hair does_ not _look like a chocobo’s ass! My hair is cool.”_

“Whatever floats your boat, Prom.” Noctis taunted with an even bigger grin, both of them fully aware that he was indeed just joking. On numerous occasions the prince had complimented his friend’s stylish hair, even despite the slight resemblance to such an amusing object. That was probably the sole reason which made it so fun to point out in the first place.

 _“Okay, well, I’m hanging up now, dude.”_ Prompto grumbled in a dramatically miserable voice, the humour that was still coating the words enough to warm the prince’s insides. 

“See ya at four-thirty, Prom.” 

Prompto hummed in nonchalant agreement, the blonde suddenly piping up after a second. _“Oh, and Noct?”_

The prince blinked. “Yes?”

 _“Was this enough?”_ was all Prompto said.

Noctis frowned in confusion, his brow furrowing. “Enough? Enough of what?”

_“My voice. Did you get enough of my marvellous voice to satisfy your craving to hear it?”_

...The noise Noctis wanted to let out was a lot stranger than the one he allowed himself to release. His face flushed immediately, the prince grateful his friend couldn’t see the immense wave of embarrassment that threatened to crush him. “…You’re not going to let that one go anytime soon, are you?”

A wicked chuckle echoed from his cell. _“Nope.”_

The call ended shortly after that note. And despite being on a time schedule, the prince, thinking back on every aspect of the ordeal, still had to take a few moments to squawk into his pillow.

But lo and behold, after his short spell of rehabilitation, anticipation thankfully ended up disabling the prince from fixating on the matter for too long; it was over with, after all, his initial goal having been thankfully achieved—now he could flutter off to do whatever else was next on the to-do list.

It only took a deep breath and a calming nod to himself for Noctis to once again submerge himself into those arrangements.

Almost three hours flew by as the raven undertook all kinds of differing things, spanning from eating whilst reviewing the tips of the dating article with keen eyes, mixing in some lessons of staring in the mirror and drilling his face to maintain a not-deranged composure for once it was time to confess, all the way to receiving—and ignoring—a text from Ignis. He had half a mind to feel bad about that last thing, but really, he didn’t have the energy to deal with his advisor right now. After all, it wasn’t exactly the first time that the prince deduced that he could deal with the insipid royal realities of his life later.

And so, after assuring himself for what felt like the thousandth time that everything was somehow going to work out between him and Prompto, the raven glanced at the clock that happily specified to him that it was close to three, confirming that it was finally time for him to get himself ready. 

Truth be told, it was no revelation to Noctis that he had a little less than two entire hours before he had to leave. Nor was the notion that on any other day, 10 minutes would’ve been more than enough time to throw on an outfit and fix his fair.

But today was certainly not any other day.

With an avid intake of air, Noctis finally initiated the process of his bodily preparation. Starting up a shower was certainly an apt first choice, and so it only took a minute or so before the raven’s clothes came laxly flying piece by piece from his body into a messy pile on the floor before the prince proceeded into the embracing warmth of the streaming water.

After the hot, steaming spray had managed to now relax the physical surfaces of the prince’s being, Noctis advanced with all the other cleansing necessities that ensued the act of showering before gingerly parting with the toasty atmosphere that lingered invitingly within those glass doors. Figuring that he could indulge in a more drawn-out spa day at a later date, the raven quickly dried himself off before slipping on his new outfit, eyeing himself in the mirror as he pulled the soft sweater over his head. Noctis blinked, before turning the other way, eyeing the outfit with doubtful scrutiny. However, after a solid investigation, the prince found himself pleasantly surprised at the overall look. If he was being perfectly honest, he genuinely didn’t think it’d fit him as well as it did. 

And it was only after that thought had entered his head did he figure that he really probably should’ve tried it on in the store first. But hey, he couldn’t complain now. Despite his previous, precarious lack of judgement, it really did look good.

Moving onto makeup application, the prince tentatively put his hair back whilst eyeing the various brands of all kinds of beauty products that were stored underneath the sink for the periodic occasions where he’d need such things. Although Ignis was definitely the customary applicator of his makeup, Noctis _had_ in fact seen his advisor do it before, so really, he figured that it wasn’t actually that difficult to do.

After nearly poking his eye out seven times—yes, _seven_ times—with a mascara wand and actually both dropping and cleaning up after a petite, lidless jar of powder that went absolutely _everywhere,_ the prince heartily revoked that sentiment. 

But be that as it may, after a lengthy period of time, Noctis was ultimately content with the final product. Some light foundation had slightly evened out his skin tone—although in truth he didn’t really need it, but he entertained the feat anyways—and a sparse coating of concealer masked the vague bags under his eyes that were advertising how badly he had slept the night prior. Of course, mascara and even a very thin layer of dark eyeliner really helped his eyes pop out, and a very subtle lipstick rid any evidence of powder that lingered on his lips.

The prince had also styled his hair to absolute perfection, any potential threats of it losing its initial integrity having been completely eviscerated by both product and hair-spray to match.

The cologne Ignis gave him that Prompto had complimented on multiple occasions had quickly circulated into becoming his favourite, and so naturally, that was what Noctis applied. And of course, it was also paired with some antiperspirant, because if he was being perfectly honest, the prince doubted that he’d be coming back from this thing with a properly functioning nervous system, let alone a perfectly dry and odourless sweater.

And so, after having completed all of that, here he was. Noctis stood still and silent, gazing at himself in the mirror. His complexion looked flawless, his hair just the way he wanted it. His dark outfit and hair accentuated the colour of his eyes, and he was smelling pretty damn great. He had filed away at the bits of his nails that had suffered through his incessant nibbling, along with having intensely moisturized his calloused hands, courtesy of his countless training sessions with Gladiolus. He even placed a videogame-themed ring that Prompto had won him at an arcade onto his finger, just for an abstruse air of sentimentality to accompany him on his date. 

In every aspect, the prince was finally finished; and with nothing left to fix upon himself, all he did was stare at the person in the mirror.

Noctis’ nerves were prattling around within him so crazily that he could barely process it, barely stand it. The perplexing feeling didn’t make sense to him; he was looking as close to perfect as he could possibly manage, and he would even go so far as to say that he would genuinely shock his friend with his appearance alone.

So why was he still feeling as neurotic and insecure as ever?

Noctis breathed in, and then breathed out, trying to calm himself down. Thankfully though, he couldn’t focus on any of his feelings or fears for any longer than a few seconds at a time, the straightforward fact that he was about to do the most insane thing that he had ever done annihilating any mental competitor in his head. 

All he could say for sure was that the thing that he wanted most right then was also the thing that was causing him to tremble; and it was that he wanted to see Prompto, wanted him to be in his arms. So badly so that he had half a mind to just get up and leave already, simply to forgo the excruciating feeling that merely waiting around was causing him.

And in actuality, the raven was about to do exactly that, proper timing be damned.

That was, until the sound of the front door opening resonated throughout the room.

“Noct?” called out a vastly familiar voice, the prince straightening up rigidly at the sound.

“Ignis?” Noctis called out confusedly as he made his way from the bathroom, the raven startling even more so when Gladiolus was the first person for him to see in the doorway, Ignis in tow. 

Noctis couldn’t bring himself to produce coherent words. He had definitely not expected both his advisor and Shield to waltz into his apartment. Especially not at this time.

“Hey, princess.” Gladiolus greeted tactlessly, crossing his buff arms over his chest as if upset, his eyes almost appearing as if they were glaring at him.

A part of Noctis’ initial defiant nature implored him to inquire what exactly had gotten his panties in a twist, right until he realized that his advisor was shooting him a similar look of disapproval.

“Uh…” Noctis uttered cautiously as the two men’s eyes tried to burrow through him, the air that had suddenly taken over perceivably tense and agitated. “What’s up? What are you two doing here?” Not like the bag of organic foods that his advisor was holding wasn’t a telling answer to that question. At least for Ignis’ presence, that was.

However, his advisor merely sighed at his question, the very breath sounding exasperated, the man adjusting his glasses as he continued to observe the prince with some type of regard. “Well, you see, Your Highness, I sent you a text informing you of our upcoming arrival, but it would appear that like with most things that declare a sense of importance, you chose to ignore it.”

Noctis felt a twinge of regret over not having checked that text at the sharpness of his advisor’s scolding tone, but it was still completely overshadowed by his own precarious feeling of trepidation. “O-kay… I may have forgotten to check that.” he declared slowly, Gladiolus grunting, unimpressed. “And… what might this text have been informing me?”

His Shield took control of the conversation with a gruff clearing of his throat before Ignis could answer his question, his eyes narrowing. “Before that, you and I need to talk.” Noctis didn’t even have time to respond before Gladiolus continued, closing the space between them whilst he did so. “For weeks now, I’ve barely even been able to get your attention during training.” his Shield brusquely said out of nowhere, uncaring of the advisor right behind him. “As of late, you’ve been completely unrelenting in your mission to make sure I know that you don’t want to be there. Now normally, I’d just wait for you to suck it up and get over it; but then you went and bailed out of our last session entirely.”

Noctis couldn’t deny anything that his Shield had just said. Having been ignoring Prompto had turned out to be a full-time mental job, and it had definitely affected the way he fought, the way he sparred. And he had indeed skipped their last session two days prior, a hard-to-ignore relapse in his emotional state having had taken priority on the day his training was scheduled. 

“Now, I don’t know what’s up with you,” Gladiolus continued in a stony voice, “and frankly, I don’t care. Training is far more important than you would care to admit, and as your Shield, it is up to me to ensure that you are able to defend yourself.” A glare fell upon the prince. “And luck would only have it that another thing to fall upon my shoulders is the chore of having to work out of you whatever has caused your so-called fighting skills to take a nosedive. I know you’ve got stuff on your plate, Noct; but that’s no excuse for you to be slacking off like you are. Skipping out on me without even a text yet again has only reinforced my theory that you’re nothing but a child. And it’s about time I did something about it.”

Anger, frustration, and disheartenment all paired together once the prince confirmed he couldn’t come up with a way to defend himself lest he refer to or accidentally entirely release his secret to his companions, the raven simply biting his lip harshly as he glared back at his Shield. Ignis said absolutely nothing during the tirade, adding salt to the wound.

“Fine. Whatever.” he eventually muttered with disdain, the prince defeated, trying his best to not show his emotions on his face. “We can train tomorrow, for as long as you like.”

It wasn’t just the scolding that was picking at his heart; the worst part was that he couldn’t even completely blame Gladiolus for being pissed off with him in the first place, the raven fully aware that since realizing his feelings for Prompto, he hadn’t been anywhere near adequate in any form, especially his physical training. But even despite his utter hatred of being scolded by his friends, he knew he was incapable of explaining to them why he had been acting such a way, his Shield unhindered in his jumping to conclusions due to his silence. And it was that notion that was proving to aggravate him the most.

Well, that was until his Shield finally responded to his offering.

“Nope. We’re going right now.”

Noctis swore he almost burst a blood-vessel in that moment. A robust heat immediately began to rise within him, fuelling his complex indignation. “What? No way.”

“Ignis and I talked about this.” Gladiolus informed him curtly, “You have absolutely nothing to do, right, Princess? Indeed, so little that you’re willing to ignore your texts completely.” The provoking sarcasm melted away a moment later, his Shield glaring right down at him as he took a step forward, his form towering over the prince’s own. “We’re going to have a little one-on-one sparring session to see if we can come eye-to-eye on your lack of responsibility.”

Noctis bit back an outraged remark, insistently holding his position in an act of defiance. “And I don’t even get a choice?”

“Tough luck, Princess.” Gladiolus glowered, Ignis sighing from behind them at the tone of the Shield’s voice. “You want to be difficult with me? With us? Then suffer the consequences.”

Noctis _did_ manage to hold his tongue from lashing out any obscenities in the moment; but that didn’t mean that it didn’t take every ounce of strength to not tell Gladiolus exactly where he could go. Instead, the prince selected a more spoiled route in an attempt to worm his way out of what his Shield was demanding of him, the possible consequences for such utterly irrelevant to him. “Uh, hello?” he questioned icily, the raven keeping his head held high. “I’m the Prince, here. You can’t tell me what to do.”

Now normally, Noctis would only use the Prince Card as a last resort if it could possibly get him out of doing something that he utterly hated, and even then, it was seldom; but right at that moment, he felt he had reason enough to use such desperate measures. 

The stormy look that took hold of the Shield’s features would surely have frightened any ordinary person, but the prince refused to express any fear. “Don’t play games with me, Noctis.” Gladiolus growled almost into his face, obviously vexed at the prince’s choice of words. “If you want me to break something in that ring, I will.”

“That’s quite enough, Gladio.” Ignis finally interjected in his own diplomatic way, the prince heartily disgruntled nonetheless over the fact that his advisor didn’t defend him in any way. “I may have agreed to the notion of Noctis needing to be talked to about his sense of duty lately, or rather lack thereof; but such threats are hardly befitting of a trifling matter such as a missed training session.” Ignis met the raven’s eye. “Not to excuse your substandard behaviour, Noct.”

Noctis wanted to deny him, to excuse his actions, to do anything to defend himself really; but instead he simply chose to concede and look away with a relenting huff of breath.

A minute later, and Ignis was placing the bag that he had brought onto the counter, eyeing the space around them attentively. Noctis didn’t comment on his advisor’s behaviour, his current emotional state enforcing the fear that if he were to speak, his voice would crack. “If I’m being perfectly honest, I thought that you were spending time with Prompto up here, assuming you must have ignored my text for a reason, Noct.” Ignis narrowed his eyes slightly after a second, as if in thought. “Speaking of which… what is Prompto up to nowadays? It has been quite some time since I have last seen you two together. Are you two alright? Did you two have a fight…?”

The suggestive way in which his advisor had suggested the possibility was obviously eluding to a possible explanation from the prince as to why he was acting the way he was recently, but Noctis was quick to shut the notion down. He didn’t want any seeds to be planted in his friends’ heads.

“Ah- no.” he replied roughly.

Ignis held his gaze curiously, the raven instantly regretting the sharpness his voice had emitted in his response. “That is quite fortunate.” his advisor nodded after a moment, his hands working with sorting out the foods he had brought. “Excuse me if I was too prying, Your Highness. It’s simply that the two of you have always been rather inseparable, so to speak. The absence of Prompto simply surprised me, is all.”

Noctis shrugged, humming his apathy over the matter. Ignis didn’t press further. And that was that.

Gladiolus was still standing by the counter waiting impatiently, Ignis continuing his work in the kitchen, Noctis simply waiting as time rolled onwards. And onwards.

…Gods, he was eventually going to have to open his damn mouth, so why the hell prolong the inevitable? 

“Uh… Iggy? It’s-” Noctis gulped tensely. “-kind of funny that you should bring that up, actually. Prompto and I- are actually going out tonight.” The prince stiffened after he heard his own words. “-For dinner. We’re going out for dinner. Tonight.”

Both his Shield and advisor stared at him once he said that, both of them providing vastly different expressions to his declaration.

“Like hell you are.” Gladiolus snapped frustratedly.

“You’re going out to dinner with Prompto, Highness?” Ignis inquired sardonically, paying the Shield no mind. “How like you not to inform me of your plans.”

All Noctis could do was offer an apology with his eyes and wait for his advisor’s response.

Ignis let out a deep sigh. “Well, I suppose it doesn’t matter all too much, being a weekend and all.” 

“And if only I weren’t here.” Gladiolus added patently, his grimace prominent at his disinclusion to Ignis’ words. He huffed his resentment, once again glaring at the prince. “Don’t think you can run away with that blondie now, either cancel it or I will-“

“Gladiolus,” Ignis interjected, effectively cutting the Shield off without toil. “You mentioned to me on the way here that you required the use of a restroom. Could you entertain that notion for a moment, if you please?”

“Excuse me?” Gladiolus grunted, his tone displeased.

“Go take a piss, Gladio.” Noctis furtherly stated for Ignis, the prince unknowing of why Ignis wanted them alone, but still all the more willing to have his Shield out of the room. 

At the encounter of both males ganging up on him, the Shield sauntered off to the toilet with a scowl on his face.

“So…” Ignis started, his voice trailing off purposefully.

Noctis braced instinctively, unsure of where exactly this was heading.

“…You’re going out with Prompto tonight?” His advisor inquired for confirmation. The raven nodded his certification. “Well, I guess that would explain why you actually spent some time on your appearance, Highness.” 

Noctis couldn’t exactly tell if that was an insult or not.

A period of quietude passed, the prince feeling slightly awkward after having Ignis silently look at him for so long, totally oblivious as to what was going on inside the man’s head. “…I couldn’t help but notice that you’re clothed rather handsomely this evening. Very much unlike you.” Ignis noted matter-of-factly, his advisor looking down at the outfit once more. “However, it suits you quite nicely, if you don’t mind me saying so.” A small smile grew on his face. “If you’re willing to dress up for Prompto, then how on Eos can _I_ get you to wear such articles when we go out together?”

“You take me to the citadel, and to boring council meetings. Hardly a reason to dress up.” Noctis replied bluntly, his nervousness not quite showing in his remark.

“I see.” Ignis muttered tepidly, his eyes slowly working their way back towards the prince’s face, his advisor staring with an air of inquisitiveness, as if he were evaluating something. “And… I noticed that you are also wearing makeup?”

A cautious heartbeat reverberated from within the prince.

“Ah- yeah.” Noctis murmured hastily, the sickening feeling of Ignis putting him on the spot leaving him wanting to run away. “I had a breakout this morning, didn’t want to feel self-conscious.” he nonchalantly lied, fully aware that concealer wasn’t the only amplifier he was currently wearing. Nor the fact that his genes had given a solemn assurance that acne wasn’t ever really to be a problem for him, Ignis well aware of that detail.

His advisor simply nodded. “Noct, tell me. …Will you be accompanying Gladiolus?”

Noctis wavered, shocked that Ignis would ask him that. He was under the impression that his advisor had sent Gladiolus away because he was on his side. “What? No, I can’t.”

“And… why can’t you?” Ignis asked calmly, his gaze steadfast. “I’m certain that Prompto would understand if you had to reschedule; wouldn’t it be best just to humour Gladio at this point?”

“No, I really can’t!” Noctis restated insistently, his voice unfortunately laced with some panic at the thought of Ignis ordering him to appease his Shield, his abnormal will to leave prevalent. “I have to be with Prompto tonight, Iggy, I have to- we have-“ 

The prince faltered gawkishly as he stared down at the floor, struggling to come up with something to get out of his damn apartment in a direction that wouldn’t leave him thoroughly bruised from top to bottom. He needed an excuse that could lead to him leaving, he needed to get to Prompto, so he had to find a reason to…

His entire system shut down when he peered back upwards and saw the look on his advisor’s face. 

It was an expression that wasn’t often seen on the man’s face, an eccentric look of wonder mixed in with something utterly appalling. 

It was… comprehension.

The very notion had Noctis’s stomach plummeting to the very bottom of his being.

And of course, to top it all off, right at that moment, Gladiolus gracelessly lumbered back into the living room, his grimace already on his face. “Well? You done? We leaving yet?”

Ignis didn’t look at the Shield even for a second, his eyes instead remaining on Noctis’ own, the regard entirely penetrative, as if his advisor was looking right through him. The prince remained frozen against his will, not knowing what on Eos he could do in that moment, his heart continuing to mimic the beat of a speedcore track.

“Gladio,” Ignis eventually spoke in a clear, authoritative voice, “Noctis has somewhere he needs to be tonight. Can you not see that he has already gone through the effort of getting ready?”

“That hardly matters,” Gladiolus argued obstinately, turning his attention to Noctis once again. “Go wipe that shit off your face, we’re training.”

“Gladio. That’s enough.” Ignis’ imperial voice rang out, soft but undeniably firm.

“What? Ignis, why are you letting him off like this, he needs to be-“

“I said enough, Gladiolus.” Ignis interrupted harshly, his strict tone combined with the use of the Shield’s full name enough to startle both Noctis and Gladiolus alike. The advisor eventually smoothed his shirt downwards, peering at the prince with a controlled expression. “It looks like we have come at an inopportune time, Your Highness. We shall be leaving. Council matters will have to wait until tomorrow. Come along, Gladio.”

And within the next two minutes, Noctis was alone again—despite some opposing muttering on his Shield’s part—the raven having been rendered completely speechless from beginning to end of that entire period. He was still standing in the very same spot, his jaw aching from how low it was hanging.

…What the hell had just happened?

He was utterly flabbergasted. He was truly shocked stiff, turning in a little circle again and again as he tried not to faint right there on the spot, knowing that there was no denying what had just happened. However, right when he caught sight of the time in his slow, rehabilitating twirl, the raven recalled that he was supposed to be heading somewhere right at that moment. Despite feeling like he just wanted to collapse onto his bed and hug a stuffed animal, Noctis could not put it off any longer. 

And he left; with his heart promoting the threat of entirely bursting within his rib-cage, but still managing by some means.

All the way up until Prompto’s house Noctis endured, somehow able to not crash the car in spite of the fact that half of the time he was falling victim to the onslaught of countless thoughts and feelings that were all flowing inside of him without a shred of restraint.

Hesitantly pulling up to the curb with a twitching nudge of the pedal, Noctis decided that he had no choice but to block every that had happened in the last few hours out of his mind, much like he had done with Prompto. He couldn’t afford to be distracted, and so immediately he willed it away, the raven reluctant to even look back on it; he had more important things to be focusing on.

Thankfully, upon gazing up at the door, a new indescribable mass of feeling quickly began to pool in his insides, and so he didn’t have to use some random thoughts to take his mind away from those things. 

Prompto was right in that house, probably singing a song to himself, waiting for him to pick him up, mindless of the fact that he was about to be confessed to by his best friend. With a few shallow, quivering breaths, Noctis determined quite quickly that he couldn’t back out now, couldn’t run away or anything—already having cut the engine, the raven was left with little choice other than exiting the car and walking up the pathway to the door. His legs were somehow moving him forwards, and yet he couldn’t muster up the ability to feel them. His breathing was erratic, his eyes hazy. He couldn’t focus on one thing or another, and nausea was skiing along every surface of his stomach.

He reached the door with a jagged intake of breath. It genuinely was now or never.

The prince raised his fist to knock, the move as gradual as humanly possible, Noctis’ heart thundering in his ears, nervousness pouring out of him. He instantly had all thoughts over Gladiolus dismissed, and entirely forgot about the situation with Ignis; hell, he even failed to recall his own name.

All he could concentrate on was that he was really doing this.

With an abrupt, sharp noise, the door opened without the prince even having to knock, Noctis nearly yelping in surprise, his body having been so unbelievably tense already that he was certain that he jumped a few centimetres off the floor.

The prince had solemnly been under the impression that he was going to pass out, his body unable to handle all of the feelings that were swirling within him, his throat already having been as dry as desert sand. He was sure that he'd feel like simply disappearing out of existence as soon as the physical barrier between them was no longer apparent.

But… be it a blessing from the Gods that had finally decided to cut him some slack, or some very odd chemical in his brain having been released into his system upon that very moment, once the boy behind the door came out to greet him, his features beaming out warmth and affection—every immersive fear within the prince, every dilapidating worry that was picking at his soul; it all simply dissipated. At the very sight of the blonde that was now standing before him, azure eyes as deep as the ocean, smile glistening like the sun... the prince's hysterical and overwrought state of mind was swiftly purified. 

Somehow, surely under the utmost influence of everything that was holy in the world, Noctis found himself smiling, his entire being simply dismissing any of his defective thoughts, any crippling doubt, and any fear as he gazed into the eyes of the boy opposite him.

“Prompto.” was all he could say, right before he pulled the blonde in for a hug.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAHA?! You really thought?! You genuinely thought that _I_ would put their date in the next chapter and not be forced to have to chop it up into two separate chapters?! ME?! The absolute QUEEN of excessive details and helplessly long monologue that is an absolute b!tch to edit?!
> 
> Well I had you fooled! >;3
> 
> ...gods, I'm trash XD
> 
> Comment section is down below, roast me there <3


	3. You Already Guessed It! Not The Last Chapter!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> holy cwap somebody hug me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Neko_Positive's stupidly late works: coming hella soon

You guys, everybody who I'm going to write for, my gorgeous readers, literally anybody who's followed me ever; I am genuinely SO close to finishing this thing's last frickin' chapter, I am _so_ frustrated that I have yet to finish it...! But let me tell you, I have REASON. LEMME EXPLAIN MY POOR SELF. And that reason is that my university has been BEYOND crushing, and I mean literally killing me slowly and yet quickly at the same time. Mixed in with work and domestic issues, I haven't had time to breathe in actual weeks, and the stress has rendered me unable to do _anything_ that I really want to, not even just writing. BUT!!! My finals are in two days. TWO. DAYS. And from then on, I am going to write. I am going to write like a super sonic warrior on a redbull high, I am going to zoom through my writing like a giant-ass spider is chasing me, I am going to try my very darnedest to shoot out all of these stories that I want to finish BEFORE I need to start uni again. Because believe me, I WANT to so damn badly. My inactivity has been weighing on me like you cannot believe, and it SUCKS. But then again, what's new?

So yes. Finals are in two days. Then I'm going to hurry up and finish and post my damn final chapter, I'm going to gift-write to Lazuli, then Carrimimi, and then all the rest of the people aforementioned in my previous notes, and then I'm going to hop back onto my original fic and finish that thing ONCE AND FOR ALL.

It has been so damn long since I've been active on here that I'm wondering if everybody's already forgotten me. Is FFXV still active? Do people even read fanfiction anymore? IT FEELS LIKE IT'S BEEN YEARS...!!! XD

But to anyone who is still waiting on their gift-fics: I'M COMING SO DARN SOON...!!! I LOVES YOU ALL SO MUCH AND GENUINELY _WANT_ TO WRITE FOR YOU...!!! <333

So just gimme a little bit for my work to be over, and then take the knowledge that I am going to be writing every single day for as long as I can so that I can try my best to write you the gift-fics that you each deserve!!! This neko sends hugs to everybody!!! >W<

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And also, I really didn't want to post this little announcement because it isn't the actual last chapter, but for a while now I've just felt like I needed to say at least something to show that I haven't given up, and welp! Better late than never!!! ^^'
> 
> Apologies, apologies, apologies! I know it's probably been so long that nobody cares about any of my works anymore, let alone THIS darn fic; but I just had to break my inactivity with this little message. Once again, LOVE TO ALL!!! <333


	4. The Second Half Of The Second Half

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The title of this chapter managed to give me a headache

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I took a while to get this stupid thing finished, along with WOW did I write waaaayyyyy too much. Just forewarning y'all that this chapter is literally 11.6K words and you'll probably fossilize before you finish it.
> 
> Nevertheless, I appreciate any who try!!! <333
> 
> Love and hearts and hugs to all of my fantastic readers!!! ^w^

Noctis Lucis Caelum wasn’t going to lie. It didn’t exactly take him a long time to comprehend that he had just crushed the body of his best friend/date into his own as soon as he had opened the damn door.

The prince’s delightfully vapid mind hadn’t even bothered to ponder over whether the gesture would’ve been received as unwanted, in the immediate moment the raven simply having brainlessly given in to his painfully fervent desire to have the blonde in his arms the very moment the opportunity arose. 

He was still riding his emotive high whilst a bubbly laugh slipped from Prompto’s lips at the prince’s hasteful embrace encasing around his body, the blonde stumbling off balance due to the momentous pull of the hug.

“Woah, N-Noct!” was all he had exclaimed as he swiftly wrapped his own arms around the raven in surprised response, the warm, loving sensation all the prince needed for any lurking, lingering distress to merely melt away from his body. The feeling that he had been craving for was exactly what he was given as the two instinctively squeezed each other closer to one another’s bodies without a word needing to be spoken, both males smiling intently despite the severe oddity of the sudden action. 

Noctis’ heart truly needed the affection more than even he thought he did, his mind simply clearing of every single entity that wasn’t the perfect warmth of Prompto’s body, the soothing melody of his gentle breathing against his ear. It was the sentiment of hugging a person he loved, an illogical but indisputable feeling that everything would somehow work out accompanying the stainless embrace.

But like all good things, the moment had to conclude at one point or another, an unwilling Noctis finally allowing himself to pull away gently from the blonde after a long while had passed, a sheepish smile on his face as he noticed a delicate, rosy tint dusting his friend’s features. Which wasn’t exactly a big surprise, considering that the raven was definitely embarrassed over his impulsive act, as well. “S-Sorry, Prom, I just… really needed a hug.”

Prompto simply stared at him. 

Noctis blinked after a few seconds had passed, moderately confused as to what he was looking at. The prince had been expecting a joke of some sort at his silly reasoning—but upon having their intimate distance broken, it was only then that Prompto’s gaze could fall upon the prince without any interference to distract him; and for a reason that said prince had yet to properly comprehend, his eyes had just stuck there, widening considerably and wavering on his body as a whole.

His jaw had lowered until his lips were parted slightly, azure eyes surveying the raven in a way that would surely make anyone else uncomfortable, no intelligible word escaping the blonde as he merely gawked at the prince without any discernible regard, a mysterious, stuttering noise repeatedly emitting from his throat.

On a mental note, Noctis eventually figured that the only plausible reason for any actual reaction was his unexpectedly tailored appearance; and whilst he _had_ in fact been rather certain that he would surprise Prompto with his more groomed and refined look, he in no way assumed that that was what he was currently looking at. The blonde looked like he had just been paralyzed, the prince promptly finding himself curious as to whether his friend was having a stroke. 

“What?” Noctis finally inquired stupidly, his mild concern paired uncomfortably with an irrational splash of self-consciousness at being stared at so blatantly by his date.

His curt interjection apparently woke Prompto up from his daze well enough, the blonde visibly snapping back into reality before the raven’s very eyes, seemingly shocked at himself as his cheeks almost instantly blossomed to a most fervid shade of red, putting the previous blush that had graced his features to absolute shame. “A-Ah, nothin’!” Prompto stammered out hastily, coughing both forcefully and awkwardly in a supposed attempt to brush off his unconventional actions, his shaky eyes trailing off to the side immediately as he rushed to compose himself, much to the prince’s growing puzzlement. “It’s just… well, you tidied up well, Noct. You look- um, like… really great.”

…Holy shit. 

Of course, _of course,_ Prompto just _had_ to say such a thing to him whilst his headspace was as compromised by infatuation as it was, the blonde’s choice of wording just gods-damn breathtaking enough to set every blaring alarm in Noctis’ head off, his heart actually managing to stop altogether. Noctis’ turn to gape at his date came up soon enough, a timid hitch of breath inadvertently escaping him as his body attempted to not implode on itself, even despite his better judgement to just see the compliment as it most certainly was—friendly, without any extended meaning behind it. However, as expected of his weak self, an impetuous flicker of something unbidden resonated within him, and every fraction of the raven’s psyche had to rush to immediately snuff out whatever the hell it was before it could grow. 

Even though Noctis knew that it was just his desperately longing heart morphing every single reaction he reaped from the blonde into something it wasn’t, he couldn’t cease from at least dabbling with one of his stupidly optimistic little fantasies as he replayed his friend’s complimentary words in his head. The very reminiscence of it all sent his mind into an absolute Prompto frenzy, and as dangerous as that was, Noctis was unwillingly addicted to the illicit sensation.

“T-Thanks, Prom.” was all he could finally manage to get out in the end, feebly chanting ‘it was just a compliment, it was just a compliment’ to calm himself down—to no avail, he might add. Not wanting to look a complete fool, the prince kept his follow-up unexceptional to the truth. “You look pretty good yourself.”

Prompto, however, completely unaware to Noctis’ inner turmoil, merely continued the conversation, albeit still giving the impression as if he were trying to brush away some type of emotion of his own. “Duuuude,” he whined in a purposefully sulky voice, his eyes eventually meeting his with a keen look. “How can you even say that? I mean, look at you. You look _too_ great.” 

Noctis knew that his friend was just joking with him, but even so, the prince couldn’t help but be slightly irked at the insinuation behind his friend’s words. It was the raven’s own understood opinion that—ignoring his own particular reasons for doing so—he hadn’t tried to dress up to somehow look better than his date, but had rather tried to at least be on par with Prompto’s natural charismatic allure. Hearing his best friend compare and downplay his own appearance was an absolutely absurd notion, the concept something that Noctis couldn’t entirely wrap his head around.

Prompto’s appearance was something else entirely, and the look that he had chosen for their covert date was particularly covetable. Clad in those very jeans that Noctis had aforementioned to him, the blonde sported a cute, printed button-up shirt to match, his entire demeanour both handsome and just so Prompto-like. With his hair done up in his customary, eccentric style, his smiling face practically radiated out cheerfulness. It was also obvious to the prince that his date had put on make-up for the night, for his smattering of freckles were almost completely concealed by whatever product he had applied over his skin—and whilst the prince himself had done his face up with powders and such as well, he honestly found no possible urgent need for Prompto to have any on whatsoever. Even despite the blonde having been blessed with one of the warmest and most beautiful complexions in all of Eos, the prince couldn’t deny that the boy’s freckles were one of his favourite features that adorned said complexion, as well.

“Damn,” Prompto interjected suddenly, smacking the raven away from his doting thoughts. “I shouldn’t have even bothered with my hair as long as I did, I’m going to look terrible if I stand next to you either way.”

With the recollection that he was supposed to be looking smart and cool in this situation—not awkward, uncoordinated, and especially not lost for words—Noctis chose against speaking out heartfully on his date’s demeaning words. Embarrassing himself even further so would certainly not do him any good favours.

“Prom, you look fine.” Noctis said almost unenthusiastically, the prince fighting against his grimace at how those sobered words didn’t even come close to doing the blonde justice. However, mundane wordings didn’t seem to compromise him in any way, and for that he was grateful. The raven figured that any more blinding discomposure could wait until it was time for him to confess.

Sighing greatly, Prompto eventually had a little smile grow on his face at the reassurance, despite its mediocrity. “I’ll take your word for it, then. Now what say we get the heck out of here and go and eat something—I’m starved, dude. So wherever we’re going better be good, or else I’m just going to break into your apartment and totally go and raid your pantry just to spite you.”

Noctis couldn’t help but chuckle at that, not objecting to the supposed chance of maintaining the current level of comfort, the prince not wanting to have any more slip-ups before it was time to get right down and confess. For now, he’d just play—or at least, _try_ to play—the sole role of best friend, and not helplessly bubbling-over lover boy. But still with the fact that it was a secret date in mind and playing along appropriately. If that even made sense. “Don’t worry Prom, I’m sure the food will be great.” 

And sidenote, he was actually being honest about that. Besides the view, virtually the only good thing about his time with his dad at that restaurant was the food. The smells alone were pretty damn intoxicating, the flavours on the other hand utterly indescribable. Despite Noctis being a prince of very, _very_ simple tastes, not even he could deny the delectable quality of the meals—specifically the meats—that the crazy expensive restaurant provided. They had the kind of foods and ingredients available that would make even Ignis succumb to a foodgasm, and that was certainly saying something. 

With a few more spoken words establishing the finale of their exchange, the two boys eventually made their way to the car, the raven’s accompanying confidence still borderline fictitious. Noctis’ heart had bluntly concluded that it wasn’t going to play along and do him the pleasure of slowing down for even a moment, oh no. The backstabbing organ had quickly made him aware that he was just going to have to last the entire night with the internal ceaseless clamour of a Gatling gun resounding from within his chest. Wonderful.

Noctis inwardly sighed. He just hoped he’d manage to pull off all of his romanticized endeavours without coming across as a complete idiot.

The raven was so preoccupied with his inner predicaments that he had mechanically made it to the driver’s door before he could even really think about the supposed romantic image he was supposed to be setting for his date—and upon wrapping his fingers around the door handle, the thought that had abruptly infiltrated his precariously swivelling mind was actually quite simple.

Should he be opening the car door for Prompto? 

Gazing over to his friend whilst dramatic cognitive drumbeats swiftly began beating in his ears, his eyes eventually froze upon the image of his one and only date, time seeming to slow down as the blonde wordlessly leaned forwards and reached for the opposite door handle—and in that very second, the raven’s impulse control kindly bid him farewell, his mouth proceeding to open, a hoarse voice rising to his throat before he could think about it, before he could stop it. 

_“Wait!”_ Noctis yelled out sharply with the exquisite grace of a boulder, Prompto immediately freezing on the very spot and hastily staring up at him, wide-eyed, looking as if he was deliberating if they were about to be attacked at the unparalleled urgency in the raven’s voice. 

The immediate moulting hot lava that felt as if it were poured onto his face spread even to his ears, on top of it all the raven realizing that it was truly too late to back down from it all now.

Jogging around the car like he had been struck with a sudden case of lymphedema, the absolutely mortified prince kept his eyes frozen to the space that was straight in front of his face as immediate regret coursed through him, contorting his pulse until it was pounding rapidly whilst the raven grabbed onto the handle himself. “Um… here.” He sputtered out, stiffly pulling open the door for Prompto before finally mustering up the nerve to actually look at his still-silent date.

Prompto’s eyes—now extraordinarily wide—merely stayed glued to his own. And then they switched to the now-open car door. Then back to him. Repeat. “…Wha-?” was all he said.

“U-Uh, I’m supposed to be doing my best to prepare to be King, ain’t I?” Noctis blubbered out clumsily, his unforgivably cretinous mind having thrown at him whatever explanation it could find on the go. “…It’s not just about responsibility. Shouldn’t royalty be- be all gentlemanly, P-Prom? I… might as well practice for the future, whilst I’m young.” His neck began to move in a back-and-forth motion, and the raven soon realized that that was his body nodding in accordance to the crap that was coming out of his mouth. “Since I drove here and everything, I might as well try to be… courteous? And stuff? And you’re… like my- my mannerisms mule.”

…What? What the hell had he just blurted out…? And did he- did he just call Prompto a _mule?_

Silence took immediate hold of the conversation, the Six surely at this point having been watching from the skies, rolling around on their fluffy white clouds whilst laughing hideously at his complete and utter stupidity. Noctis, on the other hand, just wanted to sink down into the ground and cry.

So much for not embarrassing himself even further. 

“Wow, Noct…” Prompto eventually laughed uncomfortably, looking as if he had just witnessed the prince confess to him that he was in an intimate relationship with an inanimate object. Said prince was still somehow remaining upright whilst his soul proceeded to swiftly crumple into dust. “T-That’s… certainly a nice thought. Uh, word of advice, though? Try to do it _before_ I’m about to open the door myself; and hopefully with a little less screaming involved, also, or else you’ll come off as, oh I don’t know, a closet psychopath who accidentally slipped up?”

Noctis let out a choked hum in stupefied agreement, rendered completely aghast at Prompto not calling him out for the beyond ridiculous explanation itself. “R-Right. I’ll keep that… in mind.”

Shockingly enough, the moment didn’t drag on for another hour—or for what would certainly _feel_ like an hour—and Prompto didn’t even try to laugh anymore at his antics. The blonde simply climbed through the now-open door into the vehicle with a more or less calm demeanour, Noctis wordlessly—albeit really damn surprisedly—following suit.

“Where are we off to, Mr. Prince?” Prompto eventually inquired with a coy grin once they were seated appropriately, the blonde gazing at the raven inquisitively, his words almost playful. Noctis was too busy fighting not to throw up all over the dashboard to think it cute. “I’m taking it that fast-food is not on the agenda for tonight? Finally taking our nutrition into consideration? Did Ignis finally get to ya?”

Ignoring any—and all—thoughts that bombarded his head with the bringing up of Ignis’ name, Noctis simply hummed an affirmative note, choosing just to be thankful that the ambience had so quickly diverted back to customary liveliness. At least, to Prompto it seemed to have—but he was taking what he could get at this point. “You’ll see when we get there.” he responded vaguely.

“Ooh, mysterious.” 

The car pulled away, and the two were finally on their way to the restaurant. Noctis had half his mind concentrated on the road, and the other half once again praying that he wouldn’t screw anything up any more so than he already had. 

But then again, the prince noted to himself, they were already driving now, and their long-awaited and dreaded greeting was mercifully out of the way. All he had to do now was finish the drive, walk up to the restaurant with Prompto, and begin the whole eating process before things got tricky. Thankfully, the raven couldn’t spot anything that could possibly go wrong whilst doing the following mediocre tasks. Until his confession, he reckoned, he was now safe.

“Y’know, Noct,” Prompto suddenly piped up from his side, “If I didn’t know any better, I’d think we were on a date.”

Noctis almost wretched the car into a nearby pole.

Now, once again, _once again,_ Noctis _knew_ that the blonde was just joking around with him like always— but that didn’t stop the prince from having to choke back the abrupt hysteria that crashed into him after having heard what his clueless date had just said, the raven praying to the Six that his sudden explosion of emotion didn’t show on his face.

The raven quickly regained full control of the car, albeit still feeling like he was halfway from succumbing to a full-blown panic attack.

Contemplating the risk of having his secret exposed prior to his confession—especially in such an absurd and unconventional manner—had Noctis hastily formulating a strategy to not let his secret slip out via his own body language and such. After all, he found himself reassuring himself, all he had to do was simply play it off, like he so often did around people. Just act natural.

“H-Ha. Ha.” Noctis remarked unnaturally, sounding like some daemon that was half way through asphyxiation. 

Fuck.

However, by some surely unholy magic, Prompto merely gave him a mystified look at his convulsive reaction, ultimately deciding not to inquire upon whatever the prince was feeling. But, be that as it may, all it seemed to do was leave Noctis with the deduction that it was obvious enough to the blonde that he was acting strange, that his date was trying to figure out why by himself. He could also healthily conclude that it wasn’t any good kind of strange, either, what with the uneasy side-eyes the blonde kept discreetly shooting at him. 

Thinking back on all of his idealistic ‘plans’, training, and wishes to be suave and perfect for their date, for the evening where he’d finally confess his undying feelings for his best friend to be romantic—only now to be practically drowning in his own uncomfortably awkward headspace, along with what could’ve been the most _un_ romantic ambience imaginable that he himself was responsible for… and this was _before_ the date had even really begun, to top it all off.

Even in spite of the self-assurance that he had literally just told himself, the prince was unable to even hope to stop the sudden sinking feeling that started nipping at his heart.

Braking sharply before a red light whilst his head continued to barrage him with doubt, Noctis eventually chanced another glimpse over at his best friend; Prompto was gazing over at him from his seat, glimmering cobalt eyes seeped in curiosity- and worry. Of course, always worried about him.

Noctis couldn’t bring himself to say anything in the moment, embarrassment and disappointment prevailing past his better judgement.

“Noct…?” Prompto called out at long last, his voice somewhat soft. Noctis swallowed before looking over at the blonde once more. “Are you okay? Like, really okay?”

The sight of Prompto worrying about him had many different feelings flaring up from within the prince. Their entire interaction thus far had been one that was laced with mystery and secrets—things that Prompto was ultimately fine to go along with sans any proper explanation, just because it was Noctis. The prince suddenly found himself thinking about how crappily he had been treating the blonde those past few days, what a terrible friend he himself had been—and yet even still, the blonde remained as concerned over him as ever. Even still, Prompto didn’t want to see him unhappy.

But then again… of course, he was. It seemed that Noctis had forgotten who exactly he was sitting next to. The prince felt like slapping himself awake from his whole ‘datey’ mindset. This was Prompto; the very person who knew who he was at his best—and at his worse. The person who’d take a bullet for him, who would lie for him, who would skip school for him, who held him in one of the highest regards, who felt _proud_ to call him his best friend; and even despite all of his flaws, he loved him. In a different way then Noctis felt for him, sure—but a love nonetheless. And he was the one person in the world who truly understood him. The only person in the world who could understand why he was about to do what he was going to that evening.

“Y-Yeah, Prom. I’m fine.” Noctis finally said in an unguarded voice, realizing that he was almost whispering the words, his being suddenly feeling overwhelmed with revelational emotion. “I… I’m just happy to be spending time with you.”

Prompto jolted a little straighter after that, the blonde blinking unceremoniously. “O-Oh. Well… me too, Noct. …Uh, not about you being happy to spend time with me, but me being happy to be… spending time with you.”

The prince couldn’t deny the vulnerable and affectionate smile that crossed his features, the warmth in his own system almost distraction enough from the traffic light that had begun to flash green. It took but a few moments of gazing helplessly at the blinding love of his life before he pulled the car away, his eyes reluctant to leave Prompto’s.

It didn’t matter that he was doubting himself, he realized. Fearing that he wasn’t efficient enough in his methods wasn’t means to hold up any more pretences to his best friend anymore. He was doing this for Prompto, for his relationship with him—that was all that really mattered. 

He wouldn’t dare to even _think_ about giving up.

After a seemingly endless time that was probably a lot shorter than it actually felt, the car finally pulled up on a side street a block away from the towering building, Noctis not wanting to pull up directly at the restaurant’s mini-circuit parking driveway. Which was kind of impractical, but he chose to do it anyways. The sun was close to nearing the horizon, the effect already tinting the atmosphere in a radiant hue of orange as the two boys climbed out of the vehicle, this time Noctis definitely _not_ going to assist his date with the door.

Prompto was scanning his surroundings interestedly, the gracing of a frown that was adorning his features most likely being due to the fact that they were both now standing in a more ‘lavish’ section of the city, a for-sure unexpected aspect to him. However, the blonde seemed to have no complaints. For the time being. “So, Noct, where are we off to?” he inquired cheerfully, skipping over to the raven’s side with a smile now on his face. “I could eat an entire horse right now, you gotta feed me, dude.”

Even despite his swirling apprehension, eagerness, and anxiety being at the forefront of every corner of his mind, Noctis couldn’t hold back a little awkward smile of his own. “Just follow me.”

They began their brief walk, the prince wordlessly leading the way from the blonde’s side. “Can I hold your hand?” Prompto suddenly inquired, the words causing Noctis to immediately think back to the day prior.

And even despite them now being on their incognito confession night out, Noctis actually did contemplate the notion of being distracted by his date’s grip to the extent that he ended up tripping and falling face-first onto solid concrete. Since it wasn’t the most appealing of visions, he quickly quipped, “What are you, twelve?”

“What are you, one-hundred?” Prompto retorted instantly, a pout beginning to form on his friend’s features. “What kind of person doesn’t hold their best friend’s hand?”

Noctis did in fact want nothing more than to relish in the feeling of Prompto’s skin against his own; but knowing how utterly useless he had already proven himself to be on the precipice of this unbelievably important affair, he still remained resistant to any chances of further humiliating himself. “Prom, we’re literally almost there. I’m sure you’ll live.”

Prompto only then fully initiated the hopeful puppy-dog pout, clearly unwilling to back down so easily. “Aw, pretty please? All of this mysteriousness is making me nervous. Spare this measly pleb at least a hand to hold. I need my Noct support.”

The raven’s breath hitched slightly at that, even despite the obvious satire behind the blonde’s words. The reminder that Prompto wasn’t particularly enjoying being in the dark—at least in regard to the whole restaurant ordeal—was still far from comforting. And so, the prince gingerly held out his arm for the blonde to take.

With an instant winning and smug smile, Prompto snatched his hand up gracelessly, almost like he didn’t want to share Noctis’ arm with the rest of him. 

And that grip actually did hold together warmly and tightly—much to the prince’s satisfaction—without concrete meeting any faces to boot.

However, it was also a grip that quickly melted away as soon as the two made their way to the entrance.

Prompto gaped up at the massive sign attached to the edge of the building’s entrance, the name of the tower and restaurant glowing in sequenced lights that formed the enormous letters. There was a large fountain upfront, endless streams of liquid shooting up and around on repeat, the torrents being reflected hypnotically in the many beyond-expensive cars that were parked all around the circuit-shaped driveway.

“Haha, Noct. Very funny.” Prompto eventually laughed sarcastically, rolling his eyes at his best friend’s supposed antics.

Noctis didn’t laugh back.

It didn’t take very long until the boy lost the chuckle, the blonde’s features creasing in immediate disbelief. “Noctis, you said someplace _nice.”_ Prompto stated flatly as he gazed back over to the enormous tower, gesturing rather crazily. “A pizza joint is nice. A newly-opened corner shop is nice. One of the most expensive restaurants in all of Insomnia is hardly nice! It’s _far_ too extravagant…!”

“You- uh, don’t think it’d be fun?” Noctis tried weakly, his knowledge that this was bound to happen not stopping his stomach from lurching at the abrupt dissonance.

“Fun?!” Prompto squeaked out loudly with widened eyes, his date hastily lowering his voice as he had attracted the stares of a few surrounding individuals. “I’d probably be kicked out as soon as I set foot in there…! I’m sure they turn away people in cheat suits, let alone me in my _jeans.”_

“You look great.” Noctis objected persistently. “And besides, you’re here with me. You won’t be denied service.”

“That’s beside the point, Noct…! It’s just- it’s way too much!” Prompto griped nervously, a hyperventilating date who was about ready to bolt not looking to be the unlikeliest of scenarios at that moment.

“You want me to cancel our reservations?” Noctis inquired slowly, the suggestion more of a bluff than anything else.

“N-No…! I-I mean, yes! I mean-“ Prompto shook his head at his sudden obvious frustration with himself. “…I don’t know!”

The blonde stood there uneasily, looking like he was far too deep in his own thoughts, the look gradually contorting until it looked as if he were on the road to pending hysterics. “Noct, I can’t go in there, I- I won’t fit in, I’m going to look stupid, and I’m going to- do stuff wrong or something, I…”

The protest never fully came out, the boy instead just ending up glaring at the ground, leaving the two in sullen silence whilst a periodic tremble that was so faint Noctis wasn’t even sure if he was seeing it meddled with his frame.

Feeling helpless, Noctis was about to speak up in an attempt to comfort Prompto over the impending dinner, but his date’s eyes glanced back up at him at the last second, stealing any sound from his throat. 

“Can we… Can we please just go somewhere else, Noct?” Prompto almost begged, beautiful irises unsteady.

The very sight of Prompto in that moment had Noctis genuinely considering ditching his plans entirely, date be damned. 

And yet a longing voice in the back of his head managed to draw back that inclination. It told him that one way or another, his confession was going to take place in the building in front of them. He had already suffered through so much stress and embarrassment just to get to this point, and whether he ultimately did it now or later, he still had to in the end. Why delay the inevitable, when he was doing it for Prompto in the first place? His plans for that very night had already been set; his heart had already been—more or less—prepared for it. 

He couldn’t just back away now. 

“Look, Prom…” Noctis began softly, a little bundle of determination not preventing him from nervously scratching at his own hand whilst he thought of what he wanted to say. “I know that it’s expensive, and that it might make you a bit… uncomfortable. Say we- Say we just see how it goes? I wanted to have a nice dinner with you, and I wanted to treat you to a great restaurant. Just this one time, because of… everything.”

Prompto bit on his lip, back to avoiding the prince’s gaze, looking like he wanted nothing more than to be anywhere but there. However, he was still clearly reluctant to entirely reject the prince’s wants.

“Hey,” Noctis said softly, his tone warm. “This place is totally gonna be filled with people with more crowns in their pockets than braincells in their heads. They’re one-hundred percent gonna be too full of themselves to even notice us. And if we hate it, we can always just leave and go somewhere else. I won’t force you, Prom; but I really do think it’d be… good.” 

“…I thought you hated places like this, Noct.” Prompto eventually muttered, his manner more questioning than suspicious. “And I’m sure you at least will be recognized.” 

Whilst the blonde was probably right about that, it wasn’t a refusal, and that alone blossomed hope within the raven.

“People… might notice my being there, sure. And normally, I _would_ hate to be in such a setting. But Prom, I’m not coming here with you to worry about other people. I’m here to treat us, and to have an amazing night.”—he found it best to leave out anything about confessions of undying love and whatnot—"And seeing as how you’ll be there with me…” Noctis trailed off, feeling a warm flush graze his cheeks at his sudden tangible genuinity. “Well, that would definitely outshine anything else. Y’know?” 

Prompto’s brows had raised considerably since the beginning of his little speech, his date currently staring at him with eyes no longer even precarious. Instead, his features bore a slight hint of something close to awe. “Noct…”

The prince stared at his best friend, pensive.

“Well… when you put it like _that.”_

And Noctis couldn’t help but grin.

The two boys made it into the building without any additional hindering, a kind doorman welcoming the prince and his partner in with an acknowledging bow of the head; Noctis, however, barely took notice of him as he found himself unable to look away from his almost immediately discomposed best friend. It took but a second upon entering before Prompto was soundlessly glancing around with huge eyes at… well, everything.

The sizeable infrastructure of the lobby was that of a gleaming combination of white and gold, various adornments spanning from plants to statues to glistening crystal chandeliers, the few sizeable lights hanging downwards in heavy showers of crystalline tears.

Huge abstract paintings enclosed entire walls, every single object in sight appearing to be heavily textured and expensive. A rectangular indoor aquarium lit up the left, and an in-door fountain piece decorated the right, whilst sparsely-placed chairs and tables took care of the space in-between. The huge staircases hugged opposite ends of the room and lead to the same place at the second floor, the doors of the elevators up to the restaurant resting there peacefully. 

A mass of individuals dressed in every manner of high-tier clothing imaginable furnished the area, the unceasing hum of conversation and sporadic laughter filling up the air.

Prompto, for lack of a better term, stared. 

“Captivating?” Noctis inquired nonchalantly with an internal smile, the prince still trying to ignore his unceasing tensions.

“You could… say that.”

Just then a woman with what appeared to be an entire bird on her head passed by, Noctis almost laughing out loud at the helplessly audacious way Prompto gawked. “Shoulda brought your camera.” he joked after a moment, finding himself immensely enjoying the reaction.

Prompto merely squeaked in stupefied agreement.

A few more moments of marvelling eventually ended up with Noctis and Prompto making their ways to the elevators, the few people who would either start whispering or just altogether ogling at him dismissed with but a sidewards glance from the prince. He knew better than to express any reaction. However, much unlike himself, Prompto took particular notice of the whispers; but the blonde just seemingly shrugged into himself as he awkwardly sauntered by the raven’s side, visibly uncomfortable with the crude attention in the imposing space. He kept his eyes down, his features unnaturally stiff.

Just seeing his date like that irked Noctis to the point of carefully closing the meagre distance between them and subtly taking hold of his friend’s hand, squeezing down gently. If there were cameras, gossip-mongers, or paparazzi in here, Noctis couldn’t have cared less.

Having reached the stairs by then, Prompto spared the prince a questioning glance, before quickly just figuring it out for himself. Within a couple of seconds, the comforting pressure was silently reciprocated, the two boys finally making their way up the elevator with discreet smiles on their faces.

In a minute or so, they were at the top floor.

The restaurant, Noctis noted upon entering, was quite similar to the ambience of the lobby, just as he remembered it. And just as he had hoped for, the sunset was radiant through the surrounding glass, illuminative to the spacious open floor. The city beyond the transparent barriers was already beginning to twinkle. 

“Your Highness?” a girl’s voice suddenly asked, knocking the prince out of his thoughts. “Your table is just this way, if you would like to follow me?”

“A-Ah, of course.” Noctis said to the well-dressed employee, trying to keep his voice casual. He spared Prompto a glance, his date in turn nodding and following along wordlessly.

The reservation Noctis had made provided the most privacy and was put up a step higher than the rest of the floor, strategically-placed wall panels concealing large portions of the peering people around them, but still leaving the sight of the city below and the sky above up for full observation. Prompto certainly would’ve had a heart-attack right then and there if he mentioned to him how much the seating itself was going to cost him, so he left it up to his imagination.

After being seated at opposite ends of a smaller, round table that had been chosen specifically for them, the girl handed them two large menus and left them for the time being with a kind ‘take your time, Your Highness’.

Only once she was gone from sight did Prompto release a huge sigh.

“See? That wasn’t so bad. We haven’t even gotten kicked out for just wearing jeans.” Noctis grinned broadly in spite of how on edge he was, soon remembering that this time he wasn’t here for some royal dinner and so he could just laze back in his chair. Nonetheless, the raven quickly remembered that he was supposed to be giving off romantic vibes and whatnot, thus quickly fixing his posture. Prompto didn’t even seem to notice, his eyes taking in the plentiful silverware laid out for them.

“Well, I haven’t melted, so that’s a good sign.”

“Optimistic to the end.”

It quickly occurred to Noctis how beyond thankful he was for the surrounding wall panels—he could practically sense how the surrounding fat cats and elitist individuals were trying to catch a glimpse at him after seeing him walk in with another person, the purpose of doing so remaining unknown to him. Still, Prompto surely appreciated the simple barrier, Noctis knowing for certain how his date would react if he saw that there were eyes on them, particularly in such an unfamiliar and high society setting. 

A sliver of awkward tension began to build up as both boys continued to get themselves used to the atmosphere, the feeling of uneasiness between each other entirely outlandish to them. However, after a few moments of unsettling silence, both Noctis and Prompto ended up staring out the ginormous window, gazing over the wide expanse of glittering city of Insomnia. 

“It’s… pretty.” Prompto said after a while.

“It is.” Noctis agreed.

The two stared out at the sparkling structures for a few more moments, Noctis occasionally shooting musing glances over at his uncomfortable date. With his plan in mind, the prince knew that it was simply imperative for him to raise Prompto’s mood exponentially and get him to enjoy himself to the fullest extent, for his friend to laugh with him and have a great time—and this was, in fact, to be accomplished _before_ it was time to confess. And it was time to get things moving. 

Noctis gave a little indicative clearing of the throat. It was quite literally now or never.

“So…” he spoke up slowly, his heart beats continuing to play erratically. “You still hungry?” 

And then, much to his surprise, Prompto gave him one of his heart-melting smiles, the reaction fortunately easier to acquire than he thought it’d be. It certainly helped spur the prince on, and for that he could no complain.

Reaching for their menus in perfect synchronization, Prompto eventually faltered as his eyes scanned the available options. The overwhelming list spanned Chocolate Velvet Fondue with Crème Fraiche to Fleur de Sel Ganache, Alttisian Caviar Canape to Fettini di Cernia, and an impressive assortment of other variants that were confusing to the unknowledgeable.

“Um… what language is this in, Noct?”

“Don’t worry, I can tell you what everything is.” the prince quickly promised.

He received a nod and hummed affirmation. “I didn’t think you’d be into these kind of foods, Noct.” Prompto admitted, giving him a nervous smile.

“Um… well, usually, I wouldn’t be. But the meat here at least is pretty good.”

“Well, of course you like the meat here. You like virtually everything that isn’t a vegetable.”

The prince simply smiled, his immense anxiety hopefully not showing up on his face.

Noctis ended up ordering them both Catoblepas burgers along with a plethora of familiar sides, Prompto’s burger adorned with an assortment of tasteful toppings to his liking, the prince’s on the other hand enriched with an impressive display of store-bought ketchup and literally nothing else.

And then they were waiting on their meals.

With nothing further hindering him, Noctis decided to just bite his lip and put his plan into fruition; the prince suddenly started joking with his best friend, nonchalantly bringing up thoughtful stories whilst remembering to sound clever and interesting, and even giving the occasional subtle complement like the article had told him to—and surprisingly enough, all of this soon lead to both of the boys laughing and having a genuine blast together, even despite being at one of the oh-so-abhorrent ‘most expensive restaurants in Insomnia’. If anything, they forgot they were even there. They were merely in each other’s company, and that was surely enough for the both of them. Regardless of how petrified he had felt about conversing with Prompto on this significant night, things were actually turning out better than he had even hoped for.

Their grand order of food arrived soon after, interrupting Noctis heartfully complimenting his date’s photography skills, the raven not even caring as he took in the look of Prompto’s gorgeous eyes widening at the steaming meals being placed in front of them. The sight was enough to make Noctis want to take a picture to capture the moment.

“W-Wow…” Prompto eventually commended in a high voice, already seeming about ready to salivate at the gleaming platters laid before them. “This looks… wow.”

Noctis beamed, beyond satisfied with the feedback. “Shall we?”

“Thank you for the food…!” his date cheered happily to nobody in particular as he clapped his hands together, features radiant, right before both of them dug in. 

Nevertheless, the purposefully literate witticisms and story-telling went on even whilst they ate—albeit at a far lesser frequency due to the constant chewing interruptions—Noctis doing his very best to get Prompto to keep that stunning smile on his face. And things kept on working, the lasting performance feeling both strange and oddly comforting. Being able to talk so heartily with the one he loved was proving to be almost therapeutic to him, his own mood soaring in the clouds, thank the Six. It just made everything all the more natural.

Almost an hour past in the end, the time having felt like mere minutes.

“-I swear, I’ve never heard Gladiolus scream _so_ loud.” Noctis chuckled as he finished another diverting tale, this time one that he was not supposed to tell, but one he did so anyways for the moment, the prince even gesturing outrageously for comical effect.

Prompto snorted cutely, finishing off the last of his Galahd fries with an amused grin on his face. He gradually fell back in his plush leather chair, sighing heavily to himself. “Okay, wow. This… This was pretty damn good, dude.” 

“So, you actually managed to enjoy it? Your palate could handle all this rich people food?” Noctis teased, inwardly glowing that his date enjoyed the meal he picked out for him.

“Okay, okay. So it was really good.” Prompto conceded, using his napkin to dab at some grease that was dribbling down his chin. “Hoo boy, I can’t eat another bite.”

“Did I mention the delectable quality of this establishment’s desserts?” Noctis chicly inquired next, purposefully trying to sound as close to his advisor as he could upon asking the question.

Prompto rolled his eyes at him, unable to conceal his grin. “Don’t even get me started, dude. I’m already going to have to run around the city a few times to burn off all these calories, and that’s standing besides the point that if I ate anything more, I’d explode.”

Noctis laughed, nodding in agreement. “I’m pretty full as well, honestly.”

A few verbal exchanges and whatnot prevailed for a little while, the two simply basking in each other’s presence and their own full stomachs for the time being. That was, until Prompto coughed a little, seeming as if he were composing himself before Noctis looked back at him.

“Um, Noct?” he began timidly, his features alluring. “This was… This was really damn fun. I so appreciated everything tonight, from the food to… well, just spending time with you. It’s been so long since we just went out and talked about… stuff. Y’know? I really loved this, and I… well, thank you, is what I’m trying to say. For everything.”

Noctis’ eyes widened fractionally; but it was not entirely at the things Prompto was saying—rather, it was at his own mental realization. It was time. The raven had no clue how he was supposed to prepare himself for starting, but his gut immediately reacted to the interval, and he found himself unable to back down before his seamless psyche forcefully acted for him. 

“P-Prompto. Actually… there’s something I need to tell you.” he choked out, his cracking voice betraying him in more ways than one. Just when things had begun to go swimmingly. The invasive thought alone had him instantly staring away from his date and at a wall panel, his heart thundering in his chest. Already he was so tense and incomparably apprehensive that he couldn’t even look his best friend in the eyes; now that he wasn’t just thinking about it in his head, he honestly didn’t know how he was going to do this.

“Noct?” Prompto’s worried voice called out, the prince still unable to look at him as trepidation mercilessly assaulted his being. “What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

It took a few horribly drawn-out moments, that in turn just making it worse on him, he knew, but the raven eventually readied himself to turn his face towards his friend—but not before remembering all of his practice, recalling and stressing to himself all of his training in the mirror to maintain a fixed composure. The prince breathed in, and then out. He could do this. 

Noctis finally turned his face to look at his concerned date, his mind strained and pensive. “Prom…” he started, striving to keep his voice from down-right dissipating. “You know how much I value our friendship, right? How much you’ve meant to me these past few years? What you’ve done for me?”

The blonde nodded slowly, eyes confused.

“Well… something’s happened. And it’s about… you and I. I didn’t think it would, but it did. And… I wanted to keep it a secret, and just ignore the feeling so that everything would just be fine between us, like always. I didn’t want to admit it to myself, and that’s why these last two weeks I tried to fix it all, by just ignoring what I knew deep down in my heart; but it didn’t work out.”

Prompto’s face froze, features rigid in what looked like disbelief. Or possibly even dread. Noctis wasn’t sure exactly why, so he quickly continued, worried that his friend would misinterpret his unfinished sentiments.

“It’s so obvious that we really _do_ make such a good pair as friends, and I wouldn’t want anything bad to come between us at all… you know that. But… and it isn’t your fault at all, Prompto—it’s just that-“

Noctis managed to take a deep breath, the noise around him all dimming down to a single monotone hum as he tried to prepare his next words as perfectly as he could manage in the moment.

This was it. He was really doing this.

“Prompto… I-“

“Stop.” his best friend interrupted suddenly, much to the prince’s immediate surprise. Surprise that quickly morphed into incredulity as he took in the forlorn look on his date’s face. “I- I know… what you’re going to say.”

Noctis stared, almost completely flabbergasted. But of course, what reason did he have to be so surprised? Gods, he already knew how transparent he had become. Prompto wasn’t an idiot; he had seen through his façade, he already knew that he had feelings for him.

“Even without these last two weeks, you’ve been acting so differently from yourself for so long, I’d be crazy to not have noticed how things have been between us. I mean, I had my suspicions, sure; but all of a sudden, you even had me doubting if I was really just crazy. But even so, in the end… it’s true, isn’t it?”

Noctis’ heart was two seconds away from bursting. 

“You really do want to get rid of me.”

In a distant part of his brain, Noctis wondered exactly how he could physically feel his heart sink. However, the main part was too busy trying to recover from the abrupt mental explosion that had just gone off at what he had just heard.

“What you said yesterday was a lie, wasn’t it?” Prompto continued in a weak, hollow voice, “I should’ve seen it, but I didn’t want to believe that I was right. When you said it wasn’t about me, and that we truly were fine… I really was just too happy to go along with it, wasn’t I? It was all just wishful thinking, huh? You really did want me gone.”

The surrounding chattering of the other patrons had long-since vanished, Noctis feeling almost completely numb. He felt as if his head was somehow under water, and he was still trying to process what Prompto had already said before the blonde continued.

“So then… why? Why did you lie, and get me to believe that you still liked me? And we were so good today… was it- was it all an act? Is that why you took me to this stupidly expensive restaurant? Just so we could have one last happy day together before you broke the news to me…? W-What?” Prompto’s already-tearful voice cracked so intensely on that last word that the blonde had to pause. “That’s… That’s really cruel, Noct.”

Noctis wanted nothing more than to speak, and yet he was still just sitting there, speechless. He tried to interrupt his best friend so many times during his voiced-out perception, but it was like he had lost his voice—the raven simply sitting there with his jaw hanging stupidly as the world around him seemed to splinter. Confusion, disbelief, outrage, fear, and panic; the unparalleled influx of emotions rendered him entirely incapacitated.

“And y’know what? When I got home yesterday, I couldn’t help but think about how you were acting. How your story didn’t add up. And I thought about Ignis. I _know_ Ignis. Sure, sometimes it’s apparent that you’re a bit spoiled; but he’d never say something like that to you. You were just making it up. You were making it all up. And I tried to overlook it, thinking that it didn’t matter as long as I still could still call you my best friend—but now… now I know why.” 

“Prompto…” Noctis finally managed to choke out, his distraught and dull voice sounding foreign even to his own ears. “That’s not-“

“Please stop lying to me.” Prompto all but whispered, a single tear slipping down his pale cheek. “It really fucking hurts. …Not to say that not being your friend anymore wouldn’t hurt, but that’s beside the point, isn’t it?”

A different kind of heat was already well-above its breaking point by then, Noctis’ voice certainly having made its return as self-destructive alarm flooded through the prince without hinder. “Prom, _fucking hell,_ I swear to you that I’m not-“

“I just asked you to stop lying to me.“ the blonde murmured out frailly, now crying full-on.

“Prompto, _please,_ just listen to what I have to say, I-”

“I can’t do this, I just _can’t-“_

“I love you!” Noctis blurted out helplessly, his jaw quivering feebly. 

Prompto’s next objection froze on his lips, the blonde staring at him from his side of the table, his already-shed tears rolling down until finally losing their meagre holds and helplessly falling from his face. “…What?”

“I’ve fallen in love with you, Prom.” Noctis continued earnestly, his mind unable to function to any proper extent. He couldn’t handle what was going on, his mouth unable to stop from pouring out his feelings. “I love you so damn much. I’m… I’m sorry. I can’t help it, you’re just- you’re everything I want.”

Prompto gaped at him, his jaw hanging, face unmoving. Noctis in turn just waited stiffly for a response, his body torn between catching alight and icing over entirely.

His date gradually began to shake his head rigidly, his eyes staring at the air. “Stop playing with me.”

“I’m not!” the raven swore firmly, his fists clenched tightly. “Prom, Gods, I love you! I love you with my entire being! If even more than that…!” 

“I-I can’t- there’s no-“ Prompto faltered incapably, looking like he wanted to just bolt out of the restaurant, his frame already unsteady.

“Prompto, please, listen to me!” Noctis urged desperately, not caring if anyone around him heard what he was saying. “I don’t expect anything from you in return, I already know that you don’t feel the same way that I do- but I just couldn’t keep lying to you, keep trying to act like I haven’t fallen for you entirely. I wasn’t trying to distance myself because I hated you—I did it because I was trying to get over you! But… in the end, I was only deluding myself; I was just beating a dead horse, thinking that such a thing could happen… and it was driving me insane. Prom, tonight happened because I just… I needed to tell you.”

Prompto continued to gawk at him, intelligible sound not leaving his lips for quite some time. “You… love me?” 

“Yes.”

“…Why?”

“What do you mean, why?” Noctis said with a single, hysterical laugh accompanying, the vibration agitating his piercingly dry throat. “You’re perfect. You’re more than perfect. You’re my best friend. You’re beautiful. And smart. And you’re funny. And you’re one of the most loyal guys out there. And even though I’m going to rule this kingdom one day, you still treat me like an actual human, and not just a prince. There’s nobody on Eos who can make me feel the way that you can, not even by a long shot. You make me feel normal. And loved. You’re always on my mind, Prom, and sometimes I just can’t get you out of it. Sometimes I don’t even want you to. Because you’re one of the very best things in my life, and-” 

Noctis suddenly felt too emotional to even trust his voice, the prince going quiet and trying to calm himself down before continuing. “How… how could I _not_ fall for you?”

“I…” Prompto trailed off, his expression an inconsistent mixture of emotions. “S-Somebody pinch me.”

Noctis gave a frantic laugh once more, discreetly biting his lip as hard as he could. “Unfortunately, Prom, this isn’t just a nightmare. I’ve fallen in love with you. Your _male_ best friend has fallen in love with you.”

“I still… can’t believe this.” the blonde said softly, brow furrowed in internal reflection.

“I- I know… I know it’s crazy. I’m still unsure if I myself have figured it all out—regarding you and I, along with my… sexuality. The way I see it, I’m just a freak of nature. Like a lab test gone wrong, I can’t even put a label on it. I’m just… I’m Prompto-sexual.”

Prompto clamped his hands over his mouth, his breath hitching loudly, his eyes already watering again as he stared at the prince with a most unusual expression.

“Does that… make you sad?” Noctis muttered gingerly as his face hardened despite himself, the prince mentally telling himself again and again the same thing he’d been chanting to himself for the last day; he wasn’t expecting anything in return. This was the way it was supposed to go. All he could hope for was Prompto to be able to move past his nonsensical feelings for him and remain as his best friend.

“N-No… I just… Noct, by the Six, I can’t believe you love me, too.”

The prince blinked. His date continued to blubber up tears, staring at him with wide eyes filled with an emotion that suddenly looked more and more like awe now that the possibility crossed his mind. 

Surely, the prince had just misheard him. 

“W-What- Um, what did you just say?” Noctis asked mechanically, his stomach pulled tight as he replayed what he thought he had heard over and over again, almost completely certain that his stupid brain was pulling tricks on him.

“Uh… I can’t believe that you love me?” the blonde stated, his voice wavered by his own apparent emotions.

“N-No, I heard you say _too._ You can’t believe I love you, _too.”_ Noctis stated flatly, instantly hoping he wasn’t just sounding pathetically desperate and grasping at miscommunicated straws.

“Well- yeah…” Prompto avowed gently, unsure eyes glistening beneath the ceiling lights. “I always thought that it was kinda obvious, but… I- I love you, Noct.” 

Seconds passed without any exchanged words, the silence nevertheless being overshadowed by the symphony of sudden noise in the prince’s head.

Noctis couldn’t accept what he had just heard. There was just no way. It wasn’t real, he had fallen asleep and the last few seconds were just a dream that he was going to have to wake up from. But for some reason, he couldn’t wake himself up, nor ignore the fact that it felt too real for it to just be in his head.

“Since when?” Noctis squeaked out in a dazed voice, despite being unwilling to fully allow himself to even consider the complete fantasy that was playing out before his eyes.

“I…” Prompto trailed off, suddenly staring down at the table whilst a vulnerable took hold of his features. “Always. Since we met in middle school, I- I’ve felt things for you that were… more than friendly.”

“B-But, girls- you fawn over girls all the time, there’s- there’s no way…”

“Well, duh.” Prompto swiftly remarked as if it were apparent, a slight frown appearing on his still-sentimental face as he continued to gaze downwards. “I knew that there was no way you could possibly want somebody like me. And after a long while… I was fine with knowing that I’d never be anything more than your friend; so I let go of any hope of you and I ever being more than that. I didn’t think that there was… anything to hold out for.”

“You’re… being serious?” the prince whimpered softly, unsure in the moment exactly as to why his own eyes were beginning to tear up.

“Of- Of course. I mean, it’s really embarrassing to say this out loud, and I don’t exactly think that it’s the craziest thing that’s being said tonight, Noct, but… of course I love you.”

Somewhere beyond the comprehensible, in some far-off galaxy, a set of planets surely must have aligned. 

Noctis couldn’t wrap his head around the concept. He was just told that the very best thing that could’ve happened to him had just become a reality; that Prompto loved him, as well. He figured that he should’ve been exploding with glee and relief, that he should be jumping up onto the table and singing in joy—but instead all he could do was try not to collapse after hearing such an unfathomable prospect. 

“Now it’s my turn to ask…” Prompto uttered in a weak voice, knocking Noctis out of his own muddled head as the blonde’s irises locked onto the raven’s own. “Are- Are you? Are you being serious? Do you actually… love _me?”_

It was such an insane question. Such a sizeable, life-changing question. One that indicated consequence and complication, one that screamed out that it was next to impossible—and yet the answer felt as simple to Noctis as one plus one. And it was because it was natural. It was because it was right. No twists or turns, no miscommunications, no room for any possible doubt; it was nothing more than simple truth.

“Prompto…” Noctis vowed sincerely, gazing back into the eyes of the person in front of him; the person that he loved. “I love you more than the world.”

And then they were just two boys with tears in their eyes who were just sitting at a restaurant table after having confessed to each other in the same night. It felt as if they were the only two people left in the universe, and so Noctis didn’t hesitate when he got up out of his chair and pulled his stupefied best friend firmly into his arms.

“This is… Six, I still can’t believe this…” Noctis breathed, hugging Prompto as tightly as he could manage as the blonde beneath gave a short laugh against him, despite the wetness the prince was starting to feel through the fabric of his sweater top. “Gods, I thought that you’d be put off, I was worried that it would make things awkward, or even that you’d never want to see me again…”

“That would never happen.” Prompto eventually affirmed with a sniffle.

“Hey, you were just willing to believe that I had stopped loving you, even just as a friend.” Noctis reminded him as he held his friend’s head to his chest, gently caressing his blonde hair like he had wanted to do so many times, but was too scared to. “How could I not have worried?”

“Well, that’s different.” Prompto stated tenderly, the blonde leaning against the soothing brushing of Noctis’ fingers against his head. The long-since desired gesture had the prince quivering where he stood. “Nothing else made sense. I had no idea that you could’ve possibly had… _feelings_ for me. Even now, I still… I can’t understand how this is actually happening. I really- want this to be real, but-“

“-It’s like it’s too good to be true?” Noctis finished for him in an understanding voice, the instant familiarity of the suggestion spurring his confidence on.

Prompto stayed silent for a moment, before ultimately just nodding his head.

With that in mind, and after reluctantly releasing his best friend and returning back to his seat after glimpsing around to make sure nobody had taken notice to what had just gone down, the prince decided to explain to the blonde what his plans for the night had _actually_ been. He expressed to him his countless dilemmas, his anxieties, his fears and worries, and just how long he had been contemplating everything; by saying it all out loud, he felt it just made it all the more real. 

Prompto had listened intently, eyes widening constantly and cheeks even flushing occasionally as the raven explained in as much detail as he pleased how his unadulterated feelings for the blonde had drawn him out on his own little adventure of planning and execution. By the end, the blonde was just shaking his head slowly, laughing gently as he wrapped his own arms around himself. “I can’t believe you. You actually went through all of this… just for me? I…” Prompto continued to shake his head to himself in a rhythmic motion, unable to keep himself from flushing all over and smiling broadly. “You’re totally crazy.”

“But you still love me?” Noctis couldn’t help his fervent smile from growing after hearing the words after they left his mouth. They were from a coveted dream that could be, or were just part of some joke in a random moment—and yet here he was saying it, and actually believing in them. 

“I might still love you,” Prompto continued, seemingly reacting to the words himself for a short moment. “but you’re still crazy. What you did sounds like the plot of a bad movie—nobody in real life would’ve _actually_ done that, there’s just no way.”

“You’re saying that I’m crazy,” Noctis huffed defensively, not too stoked that his intense and very-amazing planning for the night was being criticized. “Yet you’re the one who thought that the way that you… saw me… was actually _obvious._ If I had known that I wasn’t alone in this, none of this would’ve even have to have happened.”

“Well, that’s hardly fair.” Prompto countered unsurely, nibbling on his bottom lip in thought. “At the very least, I thought that I was being… noticeable, or something like that. I mean, I wasn’t exactly doing my best to hide it. I knew it was… y’know… kind of pathetic. Especially for me, who’s just a pleb, to have a… _crush_ of all things, on the prince of the entire kingdom. It just sounded too stupid, like some childish fantasy. I thought that’s how you viewed it as well, and that’s why you never said anything.”

Noctis worked thoroughly to ignore a large portion of his friend’s statement, too focused on the notions surrounding it to object for the time being. “But… when? When did you ever act like I meant more to you than just a friend would?

Prompto actually rolled his eyes, a small emotive smile adding to his features. “Didn’t you ever think about why I was always so comfortable when I was around you, how eager I was to be in your arms? How I never objected to anything you said, how I’d do my best just to be next to you? Not to mention how stupidly flustered I’d get at times. I mean, just look at earlier today, when you came to pick me up.”

Noctis thought back to their first face-to-face interaction of that day, the sheer reaction that he had induced into his date. At the time, romantic notions had crossed his mind, but he had told himself otherwise. Now that he thought about it, he couldn’t believe he hadn’t furtherly connected the dots. “So when I came up to your door, and you kinda froze…?”

Prompto nodded, clearly embarrassed. “You looked… kinda dreamy, Noct. I wasn’t… expecting it.”

“Dreamy, huh?” Noctis chuckled amusedly, his cheeks warming nonetheless. “I suppose I could get used to that.”

A few moments passed by, the two boys just staring into each other’s eyes, both unsure of what exactly was to happen next. If he was being honest, Noctis thought that he would’ve imploded way before this point, so he was truly just beyond clueless. However, a crucial thought soon entered his head, and he just couldn’t bring himself to ignore it.

“So, what does this make us, then…?” Noctis asked slowly, his tone itself expressing how nervous he was all of a sudden. “We’re still best friends, sure; but I want- I want to be more than that. ”

Prompto was gazing at him, his eyes widened considerably. However, he didn’t say anything.

“Prompto… I know that it’s crazy, and practically unheard of in my position; or at least for me, it is, but…” Noctis took a deep breath, his heart suddenly alight with feeling and sensation. “Do you want to- uh, with me…”

Trying not to combust right there, the prince gradually mustered up the nerve to speak without choking on his own tongue, his heart doing its usual thing and thundering ceaselessly in his chest. It took a few moments, but Noctis finally decided that he was just going to say it.

“Would you be my boyfriend?” he stammered out hastily, his cheeks instantly flushing furiously at his suggested label.

Prompto seemed to snap out of an apparent daze as soon as those last words came out, the blonde just staring at the prince with his mouth slightly open, not saying anything for the longest of moments. “…I think I must be dreaming.” he eventually murmured in a surprisingly calm voice.

Noctis thought about it, before eventually giving a grin, despite how overcome with emotion he himself was. “You took the words right out of my mouth.”

Prompto gave a breathy laugh, his demeanour quickly amalgamating into one of a much more vulnerable nature. “Yes, Noct.” he finally admitted in a softer voice, a pale blush gracing his features. “It would… that would make me so, so happy.”

The prince’s heart danced a dance it hadn’t done in a long time.

“So… do you think we could-“ Noctis trailed off, his face an absolute mess of embarrassment and anxiety, “like, if you wanted to- maybe we could try to… um, kiss? Or something?”

“Uh- Noct… I don’t think that would be the best idea…” Prompto mumbled lowly.

Noctis forced himself to swallow back his disappointment, keeping his face as neutral as he possibly could despite wanting to just explode right there. “O-Okay. Is it- are you not ready, for that kind of thing? With me?”

To his surprise, Prompto huffed out a breath of air in a familiar manner, despite the delightful shade of red on his face remaining. “Dude, there’s people all around us.”

Noctis blinked, surprised he had momentarily forgotten such a crucial detail about their surroundings. 

“Oh. S-So… if there, say, _weren’t_ any people around us…?” Noctis edged, shocked stiff by his sudden flicker of confidence. He also took comfort in the deduction that if the adjacent patrons _were_ indeed watching them, a commotion would’ve stirred already.

Prompto, on the other hand, merely further blushed a brilliant shade of red, his head lowering in delightful embarrassment. A small nod was all the blonde gave.

The prince was uncertain of what innocent creature he was going to have to sacrifice to the Six in order to keep this seemingly fantastical dream a reality, but that was a matter for another day. For now, he was satisfied with simply staring into the eyes of the boy he loved.

“Prom?”

His boyfriend looked at him. And to be able to even think that had Noctis wanting to cry tears of joy.

“I love you.” 

Prompto smiled, his eyes glistening with an adoration that made Noctis want to hold him in his arms and never let go. “I love you, too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think it goes without saying that I am genuinely not proud of this story XD
> 
> I had to read the 1st and 2nd chapters before editing this beast of a 3rd chapter, and by the gods do I write too much. I need to focus more on being witty and engaging and making stuff happen way faster and way more often, instead of the consistent word vomit that makes my work count grow and my tired brain deteriorate lol
> 
> But FINALLY, I can move onto my gift-fics. My excitement is hella spurring me on, I'm hoping that by trying to monologue less and actually writing more then I will be able to update WAY faster than I currently am, so there's that. 
> 
> Even so. If you managed to enjoy this and my hours and hours of work weren't actually for naught, I LOVE YOU?! <3333
> 
> And if you didn't enjoy it, you're going to have to take it up with my manager. He's a dog.


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